Zambeef Products PLC is concerned at recent press reports on the need for the country to import wheat and the proposed increase in the price of bread.

Being one of the biggest producers of wheat, Zambeef is convinced that Zambia has sufficient stocks of wheat to satisfy demand and safeguard food security. As far as the company is aware, millers have bought enough wheat to meet demand and therefore do not need to import this commodity.

Apart from being one of the largest wheat producers, Zambeef also produces bread and has no plans to hike the price of bread because, in the company’s view, it is unjustifiable.

In fact, if VAT was removed from wheat flour and bread, the price of bread would immediately be reduced by 16 percent.

The company is aware that the price of wheat has always been a contentious issue. But what the wheat producers are proposing is an import parity pricing model, a practice that has been in existence for some time now.

This model represents a fair and transparent pricing mechanism and it takes away all the arguments over the price. It is also a win-win situation for all stakeholders who include producers, millers and the consumers.

Zambia is self sufficient in wheat, a fact that everybody should be very proud of, because it is the only country in Africa that can boast of this.

In 10 years, Zambeef has endeavoured to contribute to Zambia’s food security especially in self sufficiency in wheat by investing over US$50m in irrigation equipment and farming 8,000 hectares under irrigation to produce wheat, soya beans and maize.

With Zambia’s increasing population and the fast changing eating patterns, it is important to encourage local food producers of wheat rather than encourage imports whose production patterns cannot be guaranteed. Dependence on food imports jeopardizes national food security.

Issued by Justo Kopulande – Group Head of Public Relations, Zambeef Products PLC