Zimpapers Logo

The National Railways of Zimbabwe has deployed 100 wagons to Mozambique to uplift about 20 000mt of wheat with deliveries expected in the next few days.

Millers said in a statement Friday that the intervention of Transport and Infrastructure Minister Obert Mpofu and his permanent secretary Mr Munyaradzi Munodawafa has helped the rail utility to ship the wheat to Harare.

“The milling industry is exceedingly grateful to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Dr Obert Mpofu and his permanent secretary Mr Munyaradzi Munodawafa for their urgent and timely intervention in the collection of wheat from Beira Port terminal and railing it to Harare,” the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe said.

GMAZ president Mr Tafadzwa Musarara said the milling industry has started to buy local wheat grown under contract farming and wheat produced by independent producers.

“We are pleased to advise the nation that the milling industry took a healthy aggregate position of 200 000mt of wheat (local and foreign) for the festive season. This position is more than the nation’s festive season wheat requirements,” he said.

The milling industry is benefiting from reduced flour imports and is registering positive increase in capacity utilisation. This comes after the Ministry of Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Department suspended issuance of flour import permits.“We, therefore, promise that due to the interventions wheat and flour supplies will be normal going forward and there is no need for flour imports. Supplies of bakers’ flour, biscuits flour and self-raising flour will surplus demand,” said Mr Musarara.