Botswana Restricts Exportation and Importation of Key Grains

By Xinhua 

May 14, 2023

Botswana has put restrictions on the exportation and importation of scheduled key grains (sorghum and maize), said Joel Ramaphoi, permanent secretary of Botswana’s Ministry of Entrepreneurship, in a statement issued on Friday.

The exportation of the goods would stop with immediate effect, while the importation will cease at midnight on May 15.

Ramaphoi said that all harvested maize and sorghum by government-subsidized or supported farmers must be sold to the Botswana Agriculture Marketing Board for storage, resale, redistribution, or further processing in the value chain.

Trading activities of government-supported commercial farmers engaged in the production of scheduled grains for food security purposes, as well as those operating in special economic zones, should be regulated, Ramaphoi said.

Clement Sibanda, spokesperson for the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, said in a separate interview that local commercial farmers prefer to export grains to outside markets with better prices, which has contributed to sorghum and maize shortages in Botswana.