Tanzania Faces Shortages of Staple Maize

Tanzania is facing an imminent food shortage after failing to import 300,000 metric tonnes of its staple maize required to offset a food shortage in the country.

Peter Msolla, the minister for agriculture, food security and co-operatives, told APA on Monday that so far only 6,500 tonnes of maize have been imported despite the government’s waiver on taxes on imported foodstuff as incentive for the importers.

The waiver was aimed at stocking up the national food reserves with the imported food.

The country’s projected estimates for food production for the year 2007/2008 is 11.02 million tonnes against a national consumption rate of 10.09 million tonnes.

In addition, the strategic grain reserve had planned to purchase and stock 27,500 tonnes of grains during this financial year and shift stored grains to needy areas.

In January, the government announced the tax waiver for a period of five months from January to May. This was arrived at following an analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture of the declining food production, with maize volumes having dwindled for the 2007/2008 season, coupled with severe food crisis reports from 21 districts.

Maize importers, however, said that even after the duty waiver, they were unable to get substantial volumes and attributed this to the fact that most countries that produce grains in large quantities had turned to the lucrative bio-fuel production instead - triggering a worldwide shortage of grains, including maize.

Source African Press Agency

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