Maize flour shortage looms as millers go through stocks depleted
Workers sort and weigh dry maize in Elburgon town, Nakuru County, on January 22.
What you need to know:
- Each of the past five years, Kenya has imported an average of 295,092 tonnes.
- Domestic and external factors cited as a cocktail that threatens to throw the country into a crisis.
The country faces a shortage of maize flour, with millers indicating they had less than two weeks of the required stock left as of Friday last week.
According to documents addressed to the government and seen by the Nation, millers have cited domestic and external factors as a cocktail that threatens to throw the economy into shortage in the near term.
On the domestic front, they have lamented the inability to source adequate stock from farmers locally.
“There are limited amounts of commercial stock available with farmers for sale. Kenya’s next harvest will be July-early August in the Western part of Kenya, which sustains only Western Kenya and parts of Nyanza.
“The next harvest is in Narok in September, and then the big harvest in North Rift towards mid-October. Until then, we rely on imports from the region to fill the gap,” a statement reads.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, over the last five years, Kenya has imported an average of 295,092 tonnes of maize annually.
The local maize production in 2020 stood at 42.1 million bags, down from 44.0 million bags in 2019. The country’s maize flour production over the last five years has averaged 2.8 million tonnes annually.
Millers say that as Kenya relies on imports from Uganda and Tanzania to plug its deficit, challenges have emerged that compound the depressed supply from the local market.
“Uganda did not get a good harvest and, therefore, export quantities are low. Brokers in Tanzania are holding back until the price increases to match import parity prices. Price on the shelf at Sh135–140 per two-kilogramme bag is expected to rise further in the next few days. Millers have less than two weeks’ stock,” the statement indicates.
To remedy the situation, millers are now proposing a raft of interventions, including penalising those found holding on to stocks and engaging in “speculation”.
“We are calling for the government-to-government intervention with Tanzania to release about one million bags from their food reserve to Kenya. Work with the Zambian government to get maize to Kenya,” the statement says.
A fortnight ago, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers released a statement signed by chairperson Mucai Kunyiha, saying a shortage of maize and flour could be Kenya’s next crisis.
“It is clear that maize shortage will be our next crisis, with supplies at dangerously thin levels. This is a matter requiring the highest level of attention before it spins into further crisis,” the association said.
