Local millers protest as SA floods Zim with GM maize and wheat

The Grain Millers Association, a body that represents all the milling companies in Zimbabwe, wrote to its South African counterpart, the National Chamber of Milling, accusing it of playing with people’s lives by dumping GM food into Zimbabwe when conventional foods were available.

Zimbabwe has imposed restrictions on the importation of genetically modified food aid, demanding that it be certified as GM-free first before shipment to its hungry citizens. But South Africa, the largest supplier of foodstuffs to the crisis-torn neighbouring country, has flooded the local market with GM maize and wheat.

“Consequently, the country is flooded with a glut of wheat flour and GMO maize, mainly from South Africa, with a minimum nutrient and fibre value,” said GMAZ chairman Tafadzwa Musarara in his letter.

“Some of the packaging includes the words ‘Not suitable for persons under the age of 13’ and its apparent that they are manufactured specifically for export to Zimbabwe as your own laws are very prohibitive. These brands are IWISA, BOKOMO, A1 and MAMA.”

The milling association also expressed concerned at the pricing regime.

The maize meal imports mainly in 12.5 kg are landing in Bulawayo, Masvingo and Harare at US$250M\T and retail at about R22, a price way below its source price.”

The local industry was taking a knock as a result. This dumping practice has resulted in the closure of our members in the last two years occasioning unprecedented job losses. In the main, local maize producer prices remain below cost of production due to depressed demand. As an agro-based economy, these imports have also affected the fertilizer, seeds, and packaging and transport industries.”

Musarara said this was an illegal operation under SADC trade laws.

The price cutting dumping practice leveraged on South Africa’s export rebate policy is in violation of the Article V1 of the World Trade Organisation Anti-dumping Uruguay Round Agreement and Article 18 of the SADC Trade Protocol (trade laws), to which both our governments are signatories.

These rules interdict signatory countries to export their products into a foreign commerce at prices below its normal value and cause injury in the territory of the contracting party.

GM food aid is a controversial subject in southern Africa, where half a dozen countries face severe food shortages in 2011.

The 15-member Southern African Development Community recommends that its members accept milled GM grains as long as they conform to rules of free enterprise. The Zimbabwe millers said the GM food was seeping through the leaking Zimbabwean borders.

We are aware that this predicament is also abated by the porosity of our borders mainly caused by the corrupt and incompetent ZIMRA officers and also our useless Competition and Tariff Commission, the local millers said in the letter. “However, we appeal to your good office to cause an effective and immediate intervention from the South African side.

The Zimbabwean millers threatened legal action if the South African do not cease and desist from dumping any more GM foods into Zimbabwe.

Should these practices persist in the next 14 days, we have no option but to take legal recourse, says Musarara in his letter.