NCPB to buy 90kg bag of maize for Sh3,000
Workers clean maize at the NCPB depot in Elburgon, Nakuru County, on April 1. Traders, private millers and the NCPB have increased the price of a 90kg bag of maize.
The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) will pay an extra Sh300 for a bag of maize, a relief for farmers though consumers are likely to pay more for flour.
In a second price review in two weeks, the board said it would buy a 90-kilogramme bag of maize at Sh3,000, up from Sh2,700 as the corporation attempts to ward off competition from traders and private millers.
Traders are paying Sh3,000 at the farm, the highest cost in three years. They will now have to part with more money as the scramble for the cereal increases.
It will, however, be a burden for flour consumers. A two-kilogramme of maize flour retails at an average of Sh100.
“The new price will enable farmers get value for the maize delivered to us,” NCPB Managing Director Joseph Kimote said yesterday.
Millers have raised concern over the high cost of the produce, amid a shortage. Farmers are hoarding their maize, anticipating better prices in the coming months.
Last week, the millers wrote to Agriculture CS Peter Munya, warning of an impending increase in the cost of flour due to the high maize prices.
Mr Kimote said the payment for maize would be within 24 hours of delivery at the NCPB depots countrywide.
The NCPB is buying maize for commercial purposes, the second year it is doing so.
“There are no administrative conditions for one to deliver maize to the board as long as the produce meets Kenya Bureau of Standards grade I and grade 2 qualities,” Mr Kimote told journalists.
He added that the NCPB is also offering storage at competitive rates.
Mr Kimote said farmers can opt to store their maize under the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) or under regular warehousing.
In addition to storage, the State agency is offering grain post-harvest services such as drying, cleaning, grading and testing for aflatoxin.
