Low imports, rising demand to keep the cost of unga high
Customers countercheck the prices of maize flour at a supermarket in Nakuru City on April 19, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Low yields in the South Rift region have contributed to maize prices remaining high in markets across the country.
- Kenya has been experiencing a sustained decline in maize production, from 42 million bags in 2020 to 36 million bags in 2021, due to poor rainfall
Maize prices are expected to remain high despite an anticipated bumper harvest this season due to increased demand for the commodity caused by low yield in neighbouring countries due to erratic weather conditions.
According to agricultural experts and traders, prices are expected to stabilise at between Sh4,800 and Sh5,200 per a 90-kilo bag due to low flow of the produce from Tanzania and Uganda.
“Unlike in the past, there is low entry of maize from the two countries,” Mr Kipng’etich Mutia, a miller and commercial maize farmer, told Nation on August 27, 2023.
Low yields in the South Rift region have contributed to maize prices remaining high in markets across the country. The prices dropped from Sh6,200 to Sh4,800 two months ago following harvest of this season’s crop in the South Rift and parts of the Western region.
Kenya has been experiencing a sustained decline in maize production, from 42 million bags in 2020 to 36 million bags in 2021, due to poor rainfall. The country’s annual maize requirement stands at 52 million bags for human consumption, manufacture of livestock feeds, seed multiplication and the manufacture of other products. Maize yield is expected to increase from 32 million bags to 44 million bags this season following the distribution of subsidised fertiliser and favourable climatic conditions.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya has imported an average of 295,092 tonnes of maize annually over the past five years.
According to annual agriculture reports, yields in the Rift Valley have been on a declining trend, with production dropping from 27 million bags to 21 million last season.
Trans Nzoia County is anticipated to realise an estimated 5.3 million bags against a demand of about two million bags with an estimated 3.3 million being released to the market.
“We expect a bumper harvest this season and measures have been put in place to minimise post-harvest losses,” said the county’s Agriculture Executive, Phanice Khatundi.
Uasin Gishu County is projected to harvest about 4.5 million bags of maize this season out of which more than 2.5 million bags will be released to the market
Tanzania is a major source of maize and rice for Kenya and other East African countries, including eastern DR Congo, Burundi and South Sudan.
Millers have called on the government to harmonise standards for cess and levies across the counties to facilitate steady flow of maize to sustain operations.
