Can DRC withstand the maize meal crisis?
As the DRC’s Greater Katanga and Greater Kasaï face soaring maize meal prices, Kinshasa has turned to Zambia and South Africa to help quell a social crisis in an already tense electoral climate.
For the Congolese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy Vital Kamerhe, the risk of compromising social peace and state security as a result of the prolonged scarcity of maize flour is real.
In his report to the prime minister on this situation, which we consulted, Kamerhe says the annual demand for maize in the areas of Greater Katanga and Greater Kasaï is estimated at nearly 1.05m tonnes, compared to local production of only 250,000tn. He added that this deficit is generally covered by imports, which come mainly from Zambia and, to a lesser extent, South Africa.
However, Kamerhe adds that Zambia has been restricting its exports to the DRC for some time, “to meet their own domestic demand first because of the reduction in stocks after exports to other African countries”, resulting in an increase in the price of maize flour in Greater Katanga and Greater Kasaï, where a 25kg.
Source Link: https://www.theafricareport.com/310568/can-drc-withstand-the-maize-meal-crisis/
