Kenyan millers have refused to import maize into the country despite warning from that Government that the country is likely to face a food shortage in the coming days.
The millers said that the Government gave them a shorter time-frame to import the staple food even though there is a long logistical process required to complete the importation.
Earlier the millers had written to the National Treasury seeking an extension of the importation window but the Ministry of Agriculture turned down the request and said it was enough.
The national treasury had opened up the importation window which will see a shipment of two million bags of maize from April 20 to May 30, 2020.
According to the Gazette notice by the Treasury last week, the millers were allowed to ship maize at a reduced duty of 14 percent for white maize and 10 percent for yellow maize down from 50 percent.
The millers, however, were not impressed by the decision and they said they will not import the maize if the period is not extended.
“We have received confirmation that there will be no extension of the window that has been gazetted and we have come to a decision that we shall not make imports, “said an official at the Cereals Millers Association.
The official argued that it takes an average time of 60 to 70 days for shipment order from Mexico to reach Kenya.
CMA said that when an order is made at this time, the first vessel will arrive in Kenya between June 10 and June 20 and by this time, the duty would have gone up to 50 percent.
“We cannot import unless the date is changed. By now we would have initiated the process, but we cannot because of the short window that was given,” said Mr. Ken Nyagah, the chairman of the United Grain Millers.