LUSAKA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian Cabinet has approved an amendment to a statutory instrument instituted in 2015, which banned the importation of wheat into the country, a government spokesperson said Thursday.
Cornelius Mweetwa, the chief government spokesperson, said the decision was made following indication from industry players that the country will have a wheat deficit during the year and has proposed to import 100,000 metric tons of wheat.
"Occasionally, the Ministry of Agriculture issues permits to allow importation of specific quantities of wheat to meet domestic supply shortfall. As such, the Ministry of Agriculture has given a 'no objection' to the importation so as to meet the shortfall," he said in a statement following a Cabinet meeting.
He added that exemption was necessary to allow the millers to meet the shortfall in the supply of wheat on the local market and allow them to continue production in the face of a low supply of the commodity before the commencement of the harvesting season when national stocks were expected to be sufficient.
In 2015, the government introduced a ban on the importation of wheat to protect the local producers of wheat and wheat products.
