MUFULIRA RESIDENTS FRUSTRATED WITH SOARING MEALIE MEAL PRICES
Written by Mafken FM Newsroom on 25 July 2023
Some residents of Mufulira District on the Copperbelt have been left frustrated with the soaring prices of mealie meal.
Residents spoken to by Mafken FM radio, wonder how they will be managing to fend for themselves when eating three meals in a day is already a challenge.
One of the residents, Agness Chilungu, has appealed to the Government to come up with a long lasting solution that will see a reduction in mealie meal prices.
A check by Mafken FM Radio at some reputable retail outlets in Mufulira showed that some brands are now fetching as high as K290 per 25kg bag of breakfast meal.
And another resident, Misozi Chirwa has wondered why the Government wants to start selling tonnes of mealie meal to the neighbouring Democratic Republic Congo when the country is already grappling with hunger and local people cannot afford the commodity.
Meanwhile, Miller’s Association of Zambia-MAZ- President Andrew Chintala says the soaring mealie meal prices is due to Government’s decision to prevent the Food Reserve Agency -FRA- from offloading cheaper maize to millers, leaving prices to market forces.
Mr Chintala says, millers used to buy maize at K200 per bag or K4, 000 per metric ton, but now the commodity is being bought from farmers between K300 and K330 per bag or around K6, 000 per metric ton.
By Kalonje Mumba
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