Kenya’s Maize Imports Hit Five-Year High

Kenya’s maize imports in the nine months to September 2022  more than doubled owing to the prevailing drought which curtailed the Production of the grain locally.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows the country imported 5.7 million (90-kg) bags of maize compared to the 2.3 Million bags imported in a corresponding period in 2021.

This is the highest maize import since 2017. The country is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years which has led to low maize Production given that more than 80 percent of Kenya’s maize is rainfed. The country is now relying on imports to bridge the local deficit which has seen local maize prices hit a historic high.

A 90-kg bag of maize has hit 6,000 shillings from 5,000 shillings in November. This is the first time in Kenya that the wholesale price of maize has crossed the 6,000 shillings mark.  This has added more pressure on maize flour prices with a 2-kg packet going for 190 shillings and the premium brands selling at around 240 shillings.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)  Consumer Price Index (CPI) data indicate that maize flour prices contributed to the most significant rise in the inflation rate from 8.5 percent in August to 9.2 percent in September.

The President Ruto-led administration wiped out maize flour subsidies that the former administration had initiated to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of maize flour. The subsidies would have seen the price of a 2-kg packet of maize flour retail at 100 shillings coming as a relief to many households given that ugali – a popular maize flour dish – is the most consumed.

In response to the rising prices, the government opened an import window for the importation of 10 million bags of duty-free maize to stem the rising cost of flour.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi told the parliament that the import window will be opened on February 1, 2023, and will run for three months until April 31, 2023.

“The government plans to allow maize imports from the region. The ministry has prepared a Cabinet memo to import maize duty-free to evade hunger,” Mr. Linturi said in a statement read on the floor of Parliament by Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah.

The Agriculture Ministry said the country imports four to six million bags of maize annually with Most of the maize being imported by the private sector and relief agencies.

East African Uganda and Tanzania are the main import markets for Kenyan maize.