No Grain Crisis: Govt Dismisses Claims of Widespread Millers’ Shutdown
Government has rejected claims that Blue Ribbon Industries and 23 other millers have shut down operations in Bulawayo because of a maize shortage, accusing elitist interests of exploiting the company’s name to manufacture a national grain crisis and push for increased grain imports.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development said it had obtained information directly from Blue Ribbon and the other millers named in the claim.
“That information does not support the false narrative being circulated.
“Blue Ribbon and the 23 named millers have not shut down their milling operations,” the ministry said.
The government intervention follows a report that Blue Ribbon and 23 other millers in the southern region had stopped milling because of declining supplies of locally produced maize.
A circular attributed to Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe Southern Region chairperson Major (Rtd) David Moyo said local maize supplies had “significantly declined”, affecting millers’ ability to maintain production and build reserves.
Moyo’s circular also claimed that Blue Ribbon and the other millers had closed their grain milling operations in Bulawayo.
Government says that claim is false.
It has also rejected attempts to turn concerns over grain availability into evidence of a national maize shortage.
“Zimbabwe has produced more maize and has grain,” the ministry said, pointing to official production figures showing maize output rising from 2.29 million tonnes in 2025 to 2.69 million tonnes in 2026, a 17.1 percent increase.
Government is now projecting a strategic grain surplus of between 550,945 tonnes and 964,945 tonnes, while Grain Marketing Board stocks stood at 252,177 tonnes as at August 19.
The ministry acknowledged that some localised supply and grain-quality challenges exist, including reports of insect infestation in portions of grain stocks, but said such problems should not be elevated into claims of a national shortage.
“Government will not permit isolated operational challenges to be weaponised to create a false national grain crisis,” the ministry said.
The response comes amid an ongoing dispute between Government and grain millers over policies aimed at protecting domestic production.
The dispute centres on the grain import levy framework introduced under Statutory Instrument 87 of 2025.
GMAZ has opposed the levies, arguing that they increase costs for millers and consumers, while Government maintains that the measures are intended to protect local farmers, promote domestic production and reduce dependence on imported grain.
In June, GMAZ’s urgent High Court challenge against the framework was struck off the urgent roll.
The latest controversy has gained traction partly because Blue Ribbon’s Bulawayo plant actually shut down during a maize shortage in September 2025.
At the time, the company confirmed that its plant had run out of grain, while millers called for greater access to imports.
Government, however, says the current situation is fundamentally different and accuses those seeking to use Blue Ribbon’s name of advancing a broader campaign for increased grain imports.
“More concerning is the attempt to use Blue Ribbon’s name and circumstances to advance a broader agenda for the importation of grain into Zimbabwe,” the ministry said.
“Government will not allow the legitimate concerns of individual millers to be exploited in pursuit of elitist interests that seek to undermine local production and restore excessive dependence on imported grain.”
The government’s stance is consistent with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s broader economic strategy of reducing import dependence while positioning Zimbabwe higher up global value chains.
Mnangagwa recently said Zimbabwe was moving away from being a supplier of raw materials towards becoming a producer of value-added goods.
“Zimbabwe is steadily taking a seat within the global value chain space, not as a mere supplier of raw materials but as a competitive producer of value-added goods,” the President said while addressing the 392nd Ordinary Session of the Politburo in Harare.
The President’s position comes as the country grapples with a rapidly rising import bill.
In April, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda warned that rising imports were weakening industrial growth and threatening national economic sovereignty.
“The import bill continues to exert an inexorable stranglehold on the economy, draining foreign currency and steadily corroding the very foundations upon which national prosperity must be built,” Mudenda said.
He said Zimbabwe’s import bill had risen from US$4.5 billion in 2019 to a projected US$10 billion in 2026.
For Government, increasing domestic agricultural production is therefore not only a food-security issue but also part of a wider strategy to conserve foreign currency, support local industry and strengthen domestic value chains.
Agriculture Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri has also defended the country’s production model, saying continued grain deliveries demonstrate that Government’s agricultural interventions are yielding results.
“Our contribution to the national grain reserves reflects the success of the integrated agricultural model, which combines large-scale commercial production and joint venture partnerships, which continues to yield tangible results for farmers and the nation at large,” Jiri said.
He said grain deliveries were continuing and would increase as harvesting reaches completion.
According to Jiri, the rising deliveries would strengthen national food security while ensuring adequate stocks for the country’s strategic grain reserves.
The government argues that supporting farmers and supporting millers are not competing objectives.
“A stronger domestic grain sector provides millers with a sustainable local supply base, reduces foreign currency pressures and strengthens the entire agricultural value chain,” the ministry said.
