The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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The government has introduced a 50% duty waiver on imported yellow maize to address rising prices driven by competition between animal feed millers and maize millers for white maize.
This waiver, which applies to 5.5 million bags of yellow maize over the next year, will be granted exclusively to approved animal feed millers.
The duty reduction comes as the price of a 90-kilogram bag of maize has increased by approximately 26% in the past three months.
Mutahi Kagwe, the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture & Livestock Development, stated that the aim is to alleviate pressure on local white maize supplies by encouraging animal feed millers to use yellow maize instead. This shift is intended to ensure that millers focused on human consumption can access maize at more reasonable prices, leading to lower production costs and more stable flour prices for consumers. He also mentioned that the imported yellow maize will be non-GMO.
In 2023, Kenyans experienced high maize flour prices, with a 2-kilo packet costing between Sh180 and Sh200, worsened by high maize prices caused by ongoing drought conditions. The same amount now costs around Sh150.
Kagwe encouraged local farmers to consider growing yellow maize to meet the domestic demand of over 1 million metric tonnes required annually by the animal feed sector. This shift, he noted, would help reduce reliance on imports and benefit the national economy.
Furthermore, the government plans to release regular maize from the National Strategic Food Reserve to millers producing flour for human consumption. This initiative is aimed at easing the impact of rising maize flour prices on consumers.
