ZIMBABWE'S MAIZE MOUNTAIN POSES ECONOMIC PROBLEM
More than two mln tonnes of surplus maize
dotted across Zimbabwe in huge piles is posing an economic
headache for the country.
    The grain, Southern Africa's staple, has been bought by the
Grain Marketing Board (GMB) at prices guaranteed before it was
planted, and is costing the GMB about 27 mln dlrs a month in
storage and interest payments to make the purchases.
    Accumulated over the past two years of bumper harvests, the
surplus represents about two years of domestic consumption and
is set to grow as further deliveries are due shortly.
    Some deals have been made with aid donors, such as European
countries and Australia, to provide Zimbabwe with wheat in
return for maize sent to neighbouring Mozambique, where the
United Nations has urged greater world efforts to feed the
hungry.
    But transport constraints keep those figures low and the
only significant dent was a sale of 250,000 tonnes to South
Africa last year.
    Because of the costs it has incurred, the GMB cannot afford
to give the maize away and the standard 90 kg bags have been
accumulating, economists here said.
    But failure to find buyers on glutted world grain markets
is damaging Zimbabwe, as it needs foreign exchange to finance
imports for other areas of the economy, the economists added.
    "At present, it is a no-win situation. Let us hope some of
the extra aid (UN) Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar
called for at the weekend will be spent here," a Western aid
specialist said.
    "At least this year's poor rains haven't exacerbated the
situation too badly," he added. Rainfall during the current
rainy season has been far below average, ravaging all but the
irrigated lands of large commercial farmers.
    While this may curb the amount of maize delivered this year
to the GMB, the government also acted late last year to slash
maize production and force diversification.
    Calling for a switch to other crops such as oilseeds,
Agriculture Minister Moven Mahachi said an economically-viable
price of 180 dlrs a tonne would be paid this year for only half
the amount of maize bought by the GMB in 1986, and above that
growers would be paid an unprofitable 100 dlrs.
    The poor rains have also adversely affected other crops,
such as sorghum, soybeans, groundnuts, tobacco and cotton, the
Agriculture Ministry reported at the end of February.
 Reuter
