Botswana’s wheat production is falling further behind the needs of the country’s milling industry, leaving millers increasingly dependent on imports to keep factories supplied.
Bokomo chief executive Werner de Beer said wheat production had declined by 10 percent, with local output unable to make a meaningful dent in demand.
The scale of the gap is stark. De Beer said Botswana’s annual wheat harvest was estimated at about 6,500 tonnes, against monthly industry milling requirements of roughly 14,000 tonnes.
Maize faces a similar imbalance. Botswana produced about 1,500 tonnes last year, while millers collectively process around 16,000 tonnes a month, he said.
Local maize and wheat production therefore accounts for only about 10% of the market, according to de Beer, leaving the industry reliant on imports.
Millers source most maize from South Africa, while wheat supplies come from countries including Brazil, Lithuania, Germany and Mexico. De Beer said tariffs in South Africa and supply disruptions linked to the war in Eastern Europe had made diversification necessary.
‘The only bright spot in the local grains sector is sorghum,’ he said, adding that domestic production was sufficient to meet demand.
The dependence on imported grain leaves Botswana exposed to international prices, freight costs and geopolitical disruptions, with changes in any of these factors potentially feeding through to food prices.
Millers are nevertheless trying to make local grain more competitive. Under an agreement involving farmers, millers, input suppliers and government, locally produced grain is bought at the regional SAFEX price plus an 8% premium. Millers also subsidise half the transport costs for farmers in remote production areas such as Pandamatenga and the Tuli Block.