One of Zimbabwe's largest milling companies, Blue Ribbon Foods, has halted operations at its Bulawayo plant due to an acute shortage of grain.
The shutdown was confirmed on Monday during a tour of the plant with Blue Ribbon Sales Coordinator for Matabeleland North, Nqabutho Mkhize, revealing that the company ran out of grain in April this year.
Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) Southern Region Chairperson David Moyo painted a bleak picture of dwindling local maize supplies.
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"At the beginning, we were able to buy from local farmers and the maize was there.
"But now, it is hard to fill a 30-tonne truck. Sometimes you get three or two 50kg bags a day. It takes a week to fill a truck," said Masuka.
In response to appeals from millers the government recently lifted the ban on maize imports.
However, a new statutory instrument introduced to govern imports has created further complications.
The regulation imposes a levy on the price difference between imported maize (US$300/tonne from South Africa) and the local producer price (US$200/tonne), payable to the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA).
Moyo says this measure is making it financially unviable for millers to import the maize they desperately need to keep their plants operational.
"The statutory instrument is unfair and costly. Eventually, the burden will be passed on to the consumer," Moyo said.
"We are simply asking the government to allow millers to import maize freely, without these added levies, as was previously the case."
He further emphasised that deregulating the maize import framework would allow market forces to determine prices, ultimately lowering the cost of mealie meal for consumers.
"The private sector is here to complement the government. We are partners in ensuring that no Zimbabwean goes hungry in line with the President's own promise that no one will be left behind," Moyo said.
The continued closure of key milling plants like Blue Ribbon in Bulawayo not only threatens food security in urban areas but also risks job losses and rising mealie meal prices at a time when most households are already battling inflation and economic hardship.
Millers are now calling on the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to urgently review the statutory instrument and allow for flexible, cost-effective maize importation to stabilise the milling industry.
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