Rising Wheat Prices Could Be A Market Opportunity For Root and Tuber Crops In Kenya

The cost of wheat and wheat products, which account for almost one-third of the average national cereal consumption in the African region, has drastically shot up by about 25 percent from 2021 hitting the 200 shillings mark for the first time since 2018.

The situation is already spiking shortage of the commodities across African countries such as Kenya. According to Kenya’s United Grain Miller’s Association, the country’s silos are almost out of maize while those of wheat can only last through September 2022.

According to farmers, if wheat prices continue soaring, root and tuber crops such as sweet potatoes, arrowroots, cassavas, and yams will get their crops on more Kenyan tables.

This will come in handy not just for them but also for many Kenyan families struggling to survive.

The price of bread is up 10 shillings while that of a 2-kilogram packet of Wheat Flour has risen wit more than 40 shillings since the year began.

Meanwhile, the price of arrowroots has held at 6,000 shillings for a 90-100-kilogram bag for the better part of the year.

The approximate price for Kenya Potatoes is 35.37 shillings per kg while that of a 50Kg bag goes at an average of 3000 shillings.

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The best part for farmers growing tuber crops like arrowroots is the fact that they do not require the application of synthetic fertilizers whose prices have also been on a rising spree.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict coupled with other external forces has spiked the cost of a 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer by 140 percent to 6,000 shillings across the country.

Most tuber crop farmers only apply manure and organic foliar, which apart from sounding healthy, cuts the production costs.

This means that even with improved demand, the underlying production costs have remained the same for these farmers, and hence, they do not increase prices for these commodities.

Meanwhile, the price of corn in the country has also risen 47 percent since 2021 while that of wheat is up 58 percent.

Kenya imports over 70 percent of its wheat from the two countries and now that all Ukrainian ports are closed, the country is at the mercy of other global buyers’ markets where prices are up 30-40 percent for the year.

The current high international prices have prompted wheat manufacturers to demand a similar waive of a 10 percent levy on imported wheat under the duty remission scheme to arrest the current price surge of the grain in Kenya.

Root and tuber crops are important to agriculture, and income for over 2.2 billion people in developing countries like Kenya. Now more than ever, embracing these staple energy sources could be a breakthrough for securing the country’s food situation.