Maize Prices Surge On High Demand, Even With Imports

By Jane Muia / Published February 9, 2023 | 11:25 am

KEY POINTS

A 90-kg bag of maize is currently retailing at 5,000 shillings up from around 4,500 shillings last week when farmers were rushing to sell their produce ahead of importation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Maize prices have shot sharply on the back of high demand from millers and traders as importation delays carry on.

A spot check by Soko Directory in parts of Nairobi established that a 90-kg bag of maize is currently retailing at 5,000 shillings up from around 4,500 shillings last week when farmers were rushing to sell their produce ahead of importation.

The current deficit of grain in the country has seen millers and traders scramble for the commodity, a development that is likely to push maize flour prices upper should the trend continue. A 2kg packet of maize flour is retailing at around 180 shillings with the shortage likely to push it above the 200 shillings mark.

“The price of maize has gone up by the largest margin within a span of a few days and it is just a matter of time before we see the cost of flour go up again to retail above 200 shillings,” said Atin Aggarwal, chief executive officer Trident Millers.

The ministry of agriculture last year allowed millers and traders to import 900,000 tonnes or 10 million bags of white duty-free maize from February 1, 2023, to ease the surging cost of the country’s staple. The State will allow traders to ship in the commodity from outside the regional market duty-free between February and August just two months before the onset of the main harvest in October.

The import window opened on Monday but the agriculture ministry is yet to gazette the name of millers and traders who will be allowed to ship in the commodity.

Millers earlier said due to the delays, the earliest the maize can get into the country is in March. According to the millers, after making an order, it takes at least 45 days for the consignment to arrive in the country.

They are also expressing fears that it might be hard to find sufficient stocks in the world market as there isn’t enough white maize globally as most of the produce in the would-be source market is genetically modified.

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