With citizens not buying maize from Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) due to high price, the state grain marketer was troubled on how to repay the K22 billion loan obtained from Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank but now there is hope as National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) is slated to buy half of the purchased maize.
Confirming the development, treasury spokesperson Alfred Kutengule said NFRA is to buy 2000 metric tonnes from ADMARC to ensure the country has enough maize for citizens.
Kutengule added that NFRA is to buy the staple grain at K250 per kilogram to help ADMARC recover the money it borrowed from PTA Bank to buy maize for Malawians affected by hunger following poor harvest in 2015/16 farming season.
The spokesperson for treasury added further that the remaining stock of maize is to be sold outside the country.
Malawians during the lean period shunned ADMARC maize saying the corporation was selling the maize at higher price than local vendors.
Stakeholders argued that the price by ADMARC was not affordable to many Malawians in rural areas as they were required to pay over K12,000 for a bag of maize weighing 50 kilograms. ADMARC’s failure to sell the maize followed reports of irregularities in the buying process of the staple grain from neighbouring Zambia.
Ngongole imeneyi mukanamusiyira chaponda abweze yekha or abweze limodzi ndi dpp. Maizegate gaffment.