Zambian farmers urge government to remove 10 percent duty on maize exports

Farmers in Zambia on Friday urged the government to remove a 10 percent duty on maize exports following its decision to lift a ban on exports of maize and its products.

The government has lifted the ban on maize exports following a bumper harvest of maize expected during the 2017/2018 marketing season.

The southern African nation expects maize production to hit 3,606,549 tons from 2,873,052 tons recorded in the 2015/2016 farming season.

The country already has 569,317 tons of carryover maize from the previous season, which, when added to the anticipated produce this year, would leave Zambia with a maize supply of 4,175,866 tons for the 2017/2018 marketing season.

But the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) said the government should remove the 10 percent export tax on maize introduced in the 2017 budget to avoid farmers being paid poor prices and make the country’s maize competitive on the regional market.

Jervis Zimba, the president of the farmers’ body said in a statement that the government should be aware that Zambia was not the only country in the region expecting a bumper harvest of maize as other countries were also expecting the same, a move that will result in competition in the regional markets.

Zambia, he said, needed to be competitive to penetrate the regional markets but expressed fears that the export duty will have negative effects unless it was removed. Enditem

Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh

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