mVAM Market Bulletin #3: August 2016

Increased control of exports brings maize prices down

Key points:

Maize prices fell in most districts in August, but prices are still higher than in August 2015 and higher than the national five-year average.

In Katete district, maize was 18 percent more expensive in August than in July.

The fall in bean prices in July was reversed in August: and Katete in Eastern Province reported the highest prices.

Groundnuts were most expensive in Mpongwe (Copperbelt Province), (Central Province) and Nakonde (). Photo: WFP/PhotographerWFP/Rein Skullerud

Methodology Map 1: Surveyed districts, July 2016

WFP Zambia’s in-house call centre has been operational since May 2016 as a part of WFP’s mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) initiative. The centre conducts telephone interviews with key informants to collect weekly information on the price of food including maize, rice, groundnuts, cassava and beans, as well as information on general food availability and market accessibility. The surveys are carried out with a sample of 51 traders across 24 districts. The call centre collected 155 responses in July and 230 responses in August 2016. Phone surveys contain inherent response biases; therefore, the bulletin reports patterns and trends rather than precise estimates.

Source: mVAM, August 2016

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Maize Prices Fall in Most of the Country

In August, maize prices generally decreased in most of the surveyed Figure 1: Maize prices (ZMK/kg) for monitored districts, July and August 2016 districts compared to July (Figure 1). This fall in prices is attributed to the government’s increased control of exports, in recognition of the fact that the National Food Reserve Agency has not procured the target amount of maize (1,000,000 mt) for its strategic reserves, as much of it has been bought by private traders. However, prices did rise in a few districts such as Katete (+18 percent), Serenje (+7 percent), Sesheke (+6 percent) and Monze (+5 percent).

Although maize prices have fallen in most areas, they remain higher than the national five-year average (August 2010 to August 2015) of ZMK1.47/kg and higher than the average in August 2015 (ZMK1.27/kg). (Source: FAO GIEWS).

Map 2: Maize prices by district

Source: mVAM, August 2016 Source: mVAM,August 2016

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Beans Still Most Expensive in El Nino-affected Areas

The prices of beans in almost all surveyed districts Province (ZMK 10.57/kg). The highest percentage Mpongwe in Copperbelt Province (ZMK 8.25/kg), (except Chadiza and Mwandi) increased in August increases were recorded in Chipili (41%), Kawambwa followed by Kapiri Mposhi in Central province (ZMK 2016 compared to July 2016 (Figure 2). The highest and Mkushi (38%), Kasama (33%), Chipata (23%) 7.30/kg) and Nakonde in Muchinga Province (ZMK prices of beans were observed in Petauke in Eastern and Luwingu (22%). The survey shows that the 7.25/kg) (Table 1). Province (ZMK 11.88/kg), Sesheke in Western highest prices for groundnuts were observed in Province (ZMK 10.67/kg) and Katete in Eastern

Figure 2: Prices for beans (ZMK/kg) across monitored districts Figure 3: Prices for groundnuts (ZMK/kg) across monitored districts

Source: mVAM, August 2016 Source: mVAM, August 2016

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Traders Report High Transportation Costs and Limited Storage

In August, traders’ biggest concern remained high transportation Figure 4: Word cloud of open-ended responses, August 2016 costs. Limited access to storage facilities and markets was also mentioned often (Figure 4). Some traders are still concerned about the sale of maize to neighbouring countries, but most traders observed slight reductions in maize prices thanks to increased government controls on exports. In terms of availability, traders said that maize has remained readily available in markets, partly because of the export restrictions. However, they thought that beans were still expensive because farmers preferred to grow maize.

Source: mVAM, August 2016

Photo: WFP/Rein Skullerud

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Table 1: Food Prices Across Surveyed Districts (ZMK/kg)

Beans Maize Groundnuts Districts Current July % Change Current July % Change Current July % Change Kaoma 9.20 9.10 1.10 2.04 2.20 -7.27 6.15 6.40 -3.9 Sesheke 10.67 9.70 9.97 2.43 2.30 5.80 6.67 6.30 5.8 Kapiri Mposhi 9.00 7.60 18.42 2.00 2.00 0.00 7.30 6.90 5.8 Mkushi 9.00 6.50 38.46 1.94 2.00 -3.13 5.50 6.30 -12.7 Serenje 10.00 9.60 4.17 2.25 2.10 7.14 5.88 6.10 -3.7 Chadiza 9.80 11.90 -17.65 2.46 2.70 -8.89 6.80 7.00 -2.9 Chipata 9.89 8.00 23.61 2.31 2.30 0.24 6.78 6.80 -0.3 Katete 10.57 10.70 -1.20 2.36 2.00 17.86 6.07 6.00 1.2 9.67 8.20 17.89 2.10 2.70 -22.22 6.29 6.30 -0.1 Petauke 11.88 8.40 41.43 2.10 2.00 4.80 7.20 6.00 20.0 Chiengi 9.50 8.40 13.10 2.00 2.00 0.00 6.75 6.00 12.5 Chipili 8.22 5.80 41.76 2.00 2.00 0.00 6.44 6.10 5.6 Kawambwa 8.31 6.00 38.46 2.00 2.00 0.00 6.73 6.20 8.6 Mansa 8.20 6.40 28.13 2.15 2.10 2.38 6.50 6.60 -1.5 Kasama 9.33 7.00 33.33 2.00 2.00 0.00 6.33 6.00 5.6 Luwingu 7.92 6.50 21.85 2.00 2.20 -9.27 7.24 6.10 18.7

Choma 10.00 9.50 5.26 1.98 2.00 -1.25 6.40 6.00 6.7 Kalomo 10.00 9.00 11.11 2.06 2.00 2.86 6.93 6.50 6.6 Mazabuka 10.00 10.00 0.00 2.50 2.60 -3.85 6.00 6.10 -1.6 Monze 9.80 9.30 5.38 2.10 2.00 5.00 6.20 6.00 3.3 Mpongwe 8.75 8.80 -0.57 2.00 2.00 0.00 8.25 7.50 10.0 Mafinga 8.25 7.40 11.49 2.25 2.30 -2.17 7.00 6.50 7.7 Nakonde 8.00 7.00 14.29 2.50 2.80 -10.71 7.25 7.10 2.1

Mwandi 9.00 10.00 -10.00 2.00 2.00 0.00 7.00 8.00 -12.5 Source: mVAM,August 2016

For further information:

Allan Mulando [email protected] mVAM Resources:

Arif Husain [email protected] Website: http://vam.wfp.org/sites/mvam_monitoring/

Joao Manja [email protected] Blog: mvam.org Source: mVAM, August 2016

Andrew Odero [email protected] Toolkit: http://resources.vam.wfp.org/mVAM