| ≥1 piece |
Sorghum is mainly used for food and beverage consumption such as malt and sorghum meal. Malt is used for manufacturing sorghum beer (traditional African beer). Between 52% and 62% of total domestic demand is used for malting/brewing. Sorghum meal, also known as “Mabele”, competes directly with maize meal and is served as a breakfast cereal or as soured Porridge “Ting”, sorghum rice, or sometimes called “corn rice”, is whole sorghum that has had the outer bran layers removed and is served instead of rice.
Processors of sorghum products find themselves in an extremely competitive environment in which consumers can easily switch to substitutes such as maize meal, rice and lager beer. Influences from the western culture and the economic climate are important determinants.
The use of sorghum as an animal feedstuff is well researched and documented over the years. Price is the main determining factor as to whether maize or sorghum is used for animal feed. In ruminants the combination of sorghum with other grain sources and the use of steam flaked sorghum gives a product with a similar nutritional value as maize. The reasons why feed manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to use sorghum, results from the effect of locality and season on the nutritional value of the sorghum (larger variation in nutrient composition than maize), as well as the possibility of tannins in the sorghum. The combination of problems of grain availability, bin space, cleaning, and processing along with uncertainty regarding consumer demand place sorghum at a disadvantage relative to maize.