Zambia lifted a ban on maize exports after its production of the grain rose to 3.61 million tonnes in 2016/2017 from 2.87 million tonnes the previous season, its minister of agriculture said. Dora Siliya also said on state ZNBC radio on Thursday that the southern African state had carry-over stocks amounting to 569,317 tonnes of maize from the last harvest.

Zambia annually consumes about 1.8 million tonnes of maize. "The country has produced sufficient maize for both human consumption and industrial use. The export ban on maize and maize products is hereby lifted," Siliya said. Zambia's state-run Food Reserve Agency (FRA) would participate in the market and ensure that it maintains 500,000 tonnes of maize in national strategic reserves, she said.

President Edgar Lungu said on April 21 that Zambia would allow maize exports this year as it expected to have a surplus of the staple crop. Foreign sales were suspended last year as a drought threatened output and pushed up prices. Heavier rainfall was projected to help Zambia maintain a maize surplus this season with production due to top the 2015/16 harvest.

Copyright Reuters, 2017