NAMIB Mills yesterday announced that the price of maize meal would be reduced by between 8% and 10% from November 26.

Ian Collard, the managing director, said the decrease was because Namibia had a bumper crop this year. He said this led to “substantial maize reserves, leaving the borders closed for the import of white maize until November 21 2012”.

According to Collard, the maize crop harvested in the region was sufficient and the decrease is as a result of lower raw material prices within the region.

“In addition, stable international prices are evident, after ethanol and feed demand adjustments in the United States of America (USA) drove prices downward. Prices before this increased dramatically due to the severe drought that the USA experienced.”

This, he said, led to higher prices before the adjustment on usage.

Michael Gaweseb, the executive director of the Namibia Consumer Trust, said it would be unfair towards consumers if Namibian millers and producers still decided on the price when selling to Namibians.

“Maize is staple food and most Namibians depend on maize consumption for survival, thus the need for sensitivity towards consumer concerns on the matter.”

According to him, more could be done in the interest of the consumer.

“Consumers would always welcome good quality products at reasonable prices, but in this case it is a matter of goodwill from an industry player. They certainly can do more and the best way to treat a consumer is to enable fair prices through fair competition among industry players.”