Zimbabwe bans maize imports, expects big harvest
ZIMBABWE has banned maize imports with immediate effect, the country's agricultural marketing authority said yesterday, citing an expected big harvest of the staple crop this year. The southern African nation spent $300 million in scarce foreign currency importing maize last year after successive droughts that left more than half the population in need of food aid. Farmers in Zimbabwe have started harvesting this year's crop, which is expected to come in at 2.7 million tonnes after higher than normal rainfall. That is three times last year's output and more than annual consumption. "The Agricultural Marketing Authority will no longer be…