Maize flour prices up in Dar markets

The whole sale price of maize flour usually packed in a bag weighing 25 kilogramm and sold to shop keepers in most Dar es Salaam city markets has risen up by 42 percent, the survey carried out by this blog can establish. A random survey carried out in various municipal markets in city’s suburbs of Buguruni, Temeke, Mwananyamala, Ilala and Gongo la Mboto markets shows that, the price of each bag whose price remained stable for a number of months has shot up from Sh. 17,000/- to currently Sh. 23,000/-. Traders engaged in milling maize grains in various posh mills and sell the flour to shop-keepers in packed small bags, attributed the sudden rise is due to price hike of maize grains in upcountry regions. Zablon Mlumbwa, the owner of a famous Super Sembe Dar posh mill located at Gongo la Mboto on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city said that, they are ought to increase the whole sale price of a maize flour due to price rise of maize grains in up-country supplying regions. He said hat, a kilogramme of maize has suddenly increased from Sh. 450/- to Sh. 650/- in maize producing regions of Iringa, Morogoro and Mbeya and Ruvuma regions respectively. The survey further has discovered that, a retail price for a kilogramme of a maize flour could be fetched at between Sh. 1,000/- and Sh. 1,300/- from Sh. 700/- and Sh. 850/- per kilo as it was for the last two weeks. 

A market place at Mwananyamala in Dar es Salaam

Contacted for comments the Director of Food security in the ministry of Agriculture Kasrim Mbambo could not be in a position to talks about rthe matter as he is currently on annual leave, the Guardian contacted him with view to know reasons why has there been a high price rate of maize within a shortest time. However the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Richard Kaswaga said that, during the month of April every year, reserve of the previous harvests gets out of stock, an aspect that, causes shortage of maize grains in most markets in the country. He further attributed the sudden high prices might have been caused due to the supply of such maize grains by farmers outside the country after the government had allowed the farmers and other traders to do so following the abundance of over 2 million tomes of maize grains which were accounted to be in excess in the country. He noted that, the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) had enough food stock an aspect that the government allowed the excess to be exported by traders in the country. Another reasons he attributed that might have been a source of shortage caused is due to the freedom that the government t left for farmers to do away with the maize products as they could not want to intervene with producers in a move to opromote the Kilimo Kwamza initiative that could give freedom to farmers to decide on what to do aboluit their crops.