A shopkeeper calculates the total price of two packets of maize flour at
a Nyeri shop. A 90kg bag of maize has now hit Sh3,700, from Sh3,200
last month. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI
By GERALD ANDAE, gandae@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
The price of unga could hit Sh150 per 2kg bag in the
coming weeks, if the steady increase in the cost of maize is anything to
go by.
This is after the government ignored the findings of a think
tank that recommended early importation of maize to bridge the deficit.
Last October, Tegemeo Institute of Agriculture — a
research wing of Egerton University, Njoro, — forewarned the government
of a looming shortage of the produce, calling for importation of
sufficient maize.
The research, released by Mr Francis Karin, asked
the government to scout outside Africa for white non-GMO maize, given
that most countries on the continent from which Kenya imports the
produce were facing deficits.
“There is a need to monitor closely the food
situation in Kenya and prepare early for a possible maize shortage,
taking into account the lag-time in procurement,” Tegemeo said in the
findings.
“An early consideration of potential sources of
such imports is critical given the drought ravaging the region and the
export bans in some food-surplus countries,” the findings said.
The government is considering importing maize from
Mexico, but is yet to make the move. A 90kg bag of maize has now hit
Sh3,700, from Sh3,200 last month.
Maize from Mexico could also take longer to get to
the country because East African Community member countries have a
common external tariff of 50 per cent that is levied on grain from
outside the trade bloc.
A single member state cannot reduce/remove the duty at its discretion.
The ministries of Devolution, Agriculture and
Treasury had jointly formed a team to report on the planned importation.
The team was to give the report to President Uhuru Kenyatta on January
27.
Millers say the lag-time for the produce to arrive
in Kenya is 45 days, adding that the earlier the government approves the
import the better for consumers.
The chairman of the Cereal Millers Association, Mr
Nick Hutchinson, said farmers and traders were demanding higher prices
for maize, pushing up the cost of flour.
“There are good stocks of maize in the country, but
the price the owners are asking for is way too high, pushing up
consumer prices,” said Mr Hutchinson.
He said the longer the government takes to approve imports, the more expensive it would be to procure maize locally.
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