Hungry Malawians turn to Zambian flour

Hit hard by the worsening food shortage, Malawians in border districts of Kasungu, Mzimba and Chitipa and in some cities in the country are increasingly turning to Zambia for maize flour, Nation on Sunday can reveal.

Stacks of 25kgs of flour imported from Lusaka, Zambia are selling between K7 500 and K9 000 in various trading centres on the western border strip as some Admarc depots have gone up to four weeks without the staple grain—maize

In an interview, some of nearly 2.8 million Malawians, especially the rural poor, decried being further impoverished as they have to pay an extra cost since a 50kg bag that Admarc sells at just K5 500 requires no less than K15 000.

This means Malawians in abject poverty, who are the worst hit by the food shortage, are paying no less than three times what they would be spending if government provided Admarc depots with a steady supply of maize and foodstuffs.

“Cross-border vendors are getting richer while we are dying of hunger. Most of us have to do tough piece works in the fields of the well-to-do to generate income for food, but we go home with nothing more than a meal,” said a concerned citizen Langton Mbaluka of Kasungu West.

At the centre of the transnational food deals are a cadre of smugglers who cite high transportation costs and make-or-break escapes from customs officials as the reason the price of the flour inflows are skyrocketing.

Gentala Simbazako and Samson Saladi, who sell the commodity at Malepera Trading Centre in Kasungu, spoke of the high cost of running battles with border revenue authorities on both sides of the divide as well as the rugged roads they always surmount as they travel from nearby towns across the border.

The vendors indicated that they are overwhelmed by the demand as maize scarcity in Admarc depots and trading centres is getting out of hand.

“People are desperate for food and we are struggling to meet the demand. The prices would be lower if we had maize in Admarc units,” said Saladi.

He said the scramble for Zambian flour was partly driving up the buying and selling prices as Malawians from as far as Machinga, Mulanje, Phalombe and Blantyre are heading for the neighbouring country to order truckloads of the commodity.

“Customs issues aside, the Zambian revenue authorities keep haunting us because the influx of Malawians in their country is pushing up prices beyond the reach of poor Zambians,” the trader said.

By Wednesday, nearly all 16 Admarc depots in Kasungu had gone without maize—with Kapaladzala Depot at Malepera said to have been dry since December 15, Admarc officials said.

Kasungu and Chitipa, where vendors sell 20kg of maize at about K45 000, are part of a rapid assessment of availability and accessibility of maize being carried out by Oxfam and Civil Society Network who were ostensibly shocked by the scarcity of the much-anticipated commodity despite government assurance that nobody would die of hunger.

In Mzimba, especially at the main towns, Embangweni, Mtuzuzu, Mqocha and Euthini—affected Malawias rely on inflows of flour from Lundazi District on the north eastern borders of Zambia.

Admarc depots in the vast district, where the statutory corporation’s workforce reportedly mete out corporal punishment to the hungry poor who queue from 4am to 6pm to buy no more than 20kg of maize, are marked by long queues of Malawians desperate for food.

Shops in all districts of the Northern Region have not yet started experiencing shortage of flour manufactured locally, but the sales of the Malawian products are threatened as many find the Zambian offerings cheaper.

The popular maize flour brands from Zambia include Pembe, Mushe, Continental and Banja Breakfast which were selling at K6 000 per per 25kg in October when Admarc depots, which are few and far apart in remote areas, started selling maize bought within their coverage radius.

Such is the demand that the sellers expect 60 bags to be sold out in three days though the buyers call it an expensive option, saying they only buy because both vendors and Admarc have no maize.