Imported maize arriving slowly

Maize is finally trickling into Malawi, which is experiencing its first shortage in five years, after a lengthy delay caused by transport and other logistical problems.

Henry Gaga, general manager of the country's National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), told IRIN on Tuesday that between 1,200 mt and 1,400 mt of the staple was arriving into the country daily from South Africa. "The shortages are particularly in the southern parts of Malawi. We are diverting all the imported maize into those regions," he told IRIN.

Crops in Malawi's southern region were devastated by floods last year and many communities are still suffering the after-effects.

Gaga said that of the 150,000 mt of maize ordered from South Africa in August, only 60,000 mt had arrived so far. The rest was expected to be delivered by the end of February. In addition, another 30,000 mt ordered from Tanzania was expected to arrive "any day", he added.

Explaining the delay, Gaga said the South African maize was being transported by rail via Mozambique and by road via Zimbabwe. However, labour unrest in Zimbabwe and in South Africa late last year had held-up deliveries. The maize in Nakala, Mozambique, had been held up because three forklifts there had been out of order, he said. The order with Tanzania was placed recently after transport problems made it impossible for Ugandan suppliers to deliver on time, he added.

Gaga told IRIN the imported maize was not being used to replenish the NFRA's reserves, even though it now stood at only 20,000 mt instead of the required 60,000 meant to take the landlocked country through the lean months of December, January, February and part of March. The country's actual maize needs, he said, amounted to between 20,000 and 25,000 mt a month. "The 180,000 mt is for immediate consumption."

"The good thing is that all these problems have been sorted out and we are getting maize coming in now," Gaga said, adding that the reserves would be refilled in April, when the harvesting season began. He said while there had been problems beyond Malawi's control regarding deliveries, the country had acted "smartly" by ordering maize at a cheaper price last year. Other countries in the region were battling to procure the staple, he said, which had risen from about US $225 per mt in September to between US $265 and US $275 per mt this month.

World Food Programme (WFP) officer-in-charge Ayoub al-Jaloudi told IRIN maize shortages were still evident in the south of the country, where "supply does not meet the actual needs of the people". However, he added, people were trying to manage using substitute foods and some communities were receiving aid in the form of various work and nutritional programmes.

The country's agriculture minister, Aleke Banda, was optimistic on Tuesday, saying prospects for this year's crops looked good. According to a Reuters report, Banda told a press conference: "In many parts of the country the crop looks very good this year." A crop estimate for the year was expected to be ready next month, the report quoted ministry officials as saying.