Maize flour prices drop below Sh100 for a 2kg packet

Consumers are enjoying a reprieve with the price of maize flour dropping below Sh100 for a two-kilo packet on retail shelves.

Jogoo brand is now retailing at Sh99 down from Sh109, Soko is selling at Sh96 down from Sh104 with Mama brand fetching Sh96.

The lower prices are a result of falling maize cost, accounting for 80 per cent of the total charges involved in flour milling.

A 90- kilo bag of maize is now going for Sh2,600 from a high of Sh2,900 last month as supply of the commodity in the market improves following the onset of harvesting of the short rain crop in South Rift.

The Ministry of Agriculture is projecting a surplus of 12 million bags of maize at the end of this month. It attributes the surplus to cross-border imports and the balance arising from the long rain crop harvested from the previous season.

“The maize balance sheet projected to end of August 2021 shows a surplus of about 11.9 million bags based on estimated 450,000 bags imports by private sector from the region and harvest estimates from the long rains of approximately 7.3 million bags,” said the ministry.

 Millers have said that the cost of flour is not likely to increase any further because of good maize supplies.