May 1, 2012

In the 2011-12 season, Zambia's corn output dropped by about 6% to 2.8 million tonnes from three million tonnes last year, the agriculture minister said on Monday (Apr 30).

Emmanuel Chenda also said at a media briefing that Zambia still had a huge corn surplus because of carry-over stocks from last year and is planning to export some of the excess.

"When the carry-over stocks of 770,931 tonnes from the last season are added to the current production, the country ends up with a corn surplus of 1,035,333," Chenda said.

Zambia needs just over 2.5 million tonnes of corn for human consumption, strategic reserves, stock feed and brewing, he said.

Erratic rains delayed the planting of this year's corn crop, the country's staple, raising the possibility of a poor harvest.