Who eats yellow maize? : preliminary results of a survey of consumer maize preferences in Maputo, Mozambique

Preliminary results of a study of consumer maize preferences in the low-income bairros of Maputo indicate the following. (1) Low-income consumers are not willing to pay large price premiums for white maize grain and meals over yellow grain and meals. At price discounts potentially supportable in an open market setting, over one-third of the poorer consumers, and one-quarter of all consumers, will switch to yellow grain instead of white. This suggests that large amounts of yellow grain food aid sold at prices well below world market levels can substantially reduce the demand for white maize and thus reduce incentives for domestic production of the grain. (2) To the extent that the Government of Mozambique is concerned about the welfare of the poorest consumers, it should encourage the availability of yellow grain, which is more readily available on world markets than white grain and can be procured at a lower cost. Evidence from other countries in the region, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa, suggests that yellow grain could be more productive and thus lower priced in markets, thereby increasing the real purchasing power of the lowest-income consumers who would be yellow grains" primary consumers. (3) The poorest consumers are the ones most likely to consume whole meals when they are discounted relative to refined meals. The discounts necessary to induce substantial shifts to whole meals are not great, being easily supported in a market setting on the basis of relative milling costs of large roller mills (producing refined meal) and small hammer mills (producing whole meal).