MIDLANDS - While the cost of inputs might have contributed to the late planting of winter wheat this season, the major drawback was the issue of market uncertainty, farmers in the Midlands said.Most farmers claimed that in the past few months, millers were importing cheap wheat in bulk from other countries in the region and beyond. “Farming inputs are cheaper in neighbouring countries and those who can are actually importing the inputs, but there are others who feel that transport costs are too much. When they want to sell their wheat at a profit, they won’t find buyers because what they produced will be expensive,” said a farmer in Kwekwe.
Another farmer, Renson Gasela of Gweru, said he had not planted any wheat this season owing to market uncertainty. “It’s not different from the issue of maize. We bought inputs from outside and produced at a very high cost. And because of our prices, millers still prefer to import from South Africa and we can’t reduce the price without running the risk of selling at a loss,” said Gasela.