Producers withhold soya crop

Soya bean farmers in Zimbabwe have decided to withhold their crops from the market in protest at prices offered by buyers, Jane Mutau vice-president of the National Soya Bean Commodity Association told IRIN. The decision follows a deadlock in negotiations between producers and buyers on setting a higher purchase price in line with increased production costs. Farmers are demanding a price increase of between Zim $2.5 million (about US $467) and Zim $4 million (US $747) per tonne, while buyers maintain they cannot offer anything higher than the current price range of between Zim $1.7 million (US $317) and Zim $1.9 million (US $355). "There is no way farmers can dispose of their crop [at] the current prices, because production costs have ballooned over the years. We will hold onto the crop until buyers offer competitive prices, as is the case with other crops," said Mutau. "A price of Zim $4 million per tonne would give the farmer a profit, and help in maintaining viability [of] the sector. Most of the soya bean farmers are not contracted to any buyers - therefore, they cannot be compelled to sell the crop at the present unrealistic prices," Mutau added. The National Soya Bean Promotion Taskforce chairman, Isheunesu Mpepereki, warned that prices being offered by buyers might force many farmers to abandon soya production and switch to other crops. "It will be very difficult to increase production next season because the [current] one has been affected by high inflation. This season's prices were supposed be higher, to enable farmers to fund operations into the next season," Mpepereki explained. Like most Zimbabwean farmers, soya bean producers were affected by a widespread shortage of seed and other inputs. Mpepereki said the soya bean taskforce was urging farmers to reserve some of their best product to use as seed for the next season to avoid a shortage. Zimbabwe needs between 175,000 and 200,000 mt of soya beans per year for domestic consumption, but production has steadily declined in recent years, from over 150,000 mt in 2001 to an anticipated 50,000 mt this year. Apart from its industrial uses in cooking oil and soap products, soya beans are a cheap high-energy food source for ordinary Zimbabweans.