via ‘Ban food imports’ – DailyNews Live by Thelma Chikwanha 28 NOVEMBER 2013
Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, minister of State for Provincial Affairs, has called on government to ban imports of cheap foodstuffs to eliminate unfair competition for local producers.
Mudarikwa was speaking on the sidelines of a United Methodist Committee on Relief (Umcor) and World Food Programme (WFP) food donation ceremony at Magadu Primary School in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) earlier this week.
The Mashonaland East provincial minister said the cheap imports affected the pricing of most food stuffs in Zimbabwe.
“There is no demand for beef in the country because of cheap imports of chicken from countries like South Africa. It is affecting the price of cattle here,” Mudarikwa said.
“When we import food, we are also importing jobs which would have otherwise been created by our people who are involved in livestock production.”
Mudarikwa said the cheap imports also hampered government indigenisation efforts which sought to put the means of production in the hands of locals.
“Our youths here have benefited from the governments indigenisation programme but most of them are involved in livestock production because we are in Region Four where the rainfall pattern is bad but there are no markets for their commodities because of these cheap imports,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) says the importation of cheap goods not only made the playing ground uneven for local industries but turned the country into a dumping ground of substandard goods.
The imported goods are usually sold at a much lower price.
For instance, a pocket of imported potatoes will cost anything from between $4 to $6 while locally grown potatoes are being sold between $10 and $12.
These goods usually do not compete with locally-grown produce as most of it is genetically modified.
COMMENTS
ban imports and then do what?there is a problem with zesa they cant guarante they will supply firms with supply of electricity indegenisation is something else, zanu put themselves into this mess by promising the un believeable now they want to arrest pple about sanctions who owns sanctions? Biti worked under the same so called sanctions and the economy fared better by far so many excuses and threats it means nothing, do not ban imports show the pple that zimbabwe produts are cheaper by[ competing]fairly .
Close the border if he does not want imports,personal i eat gmos through and through
Do these guys wake up in the morning and have these brilliant (not) ideas or is it a lack of basic education? Maybe he should think why are imported potatoes cheaper than local grown. I am sure they never used to be? Its what happens when you throw out the farmers stupid!! Zambia learnt it under Kaunda and Mugabe followed straight behind. people eat chicken because it is cheaper than beef anywhere in the world, not because they are imported!
Another pipe smoking silly man.How do you expect people to live when the new farmers cant even produce 1/2 a bucket of potatoes? You yourself go to buy food in South Africa and then tell people to have no food.aaaaa yaaaa.Zimbabwe has many fools.Before you embarked on Land reform you were supposed to make policies to make the revolution a success.ZANU PF refused an excellent Land reform package from Professor Mandivamba Rukuni, now with FAO . It was excellent but ZANU wants chaos and thats when madness is revealed.Rukuni is now heading the World Food Security organisation FAO.
Its high time ZANU PF people stop smoking dagga
Mr mudarikwa our pockets are not the same people are buying GMOs why.Consider that before u run to close the borders. compete and beat them at the market fullstop
Only cruel and evil people would suggest to ban food imports at this time, under the pretext of GM foods because we have survived worst periods before with these foods.Why now? Local foods are over priced for ordinary poor people.Is it the public’s problem that our new farmers produce inadequate volumes,so they try to makeup for their losses by hiking prices?Please do not protect inefficiency at the expense of the poor people.Live and let live.
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This coming from another fat idiot who eats imported food very day……. Where does he think all the maize meal comes from? Zimbabwe? My God what are we going to do with fools like this presiding over the country?
Was once visiting a new generation farmer who got about 50 hectares of good farm land. He was not at home. Guess what, he went to see if the maize the government was importing from Zambia had arrived. He needed some for his starving family.
1 was once visiting a new generation farmer who got about 50 hectares of good farm land. He was not at home. Guess what! He had gone to see if the maize the government was importing from Zambia had arrived. He needed some for his starving family.