Farmers’ pain as maize prices drop, but good news for ugali lovers
A farmer stacks his maize during harvesting in Elburgon, Nakuru county on November 08, 2023. Prices for the produce are falling daily.
What you need to know:
- The price for the 90-kilogramme bag has slumped from Sh6,200 to Sh3,200.
- This comes as millers decry low sales as most consumers opt for posho mill flour.
It is double tragedy to grain farmers as maize prices drop by Sh3,000 per a 90-kilogramme bag even as they battle rising costs of farm inputs that might force some to reduce acreage under the crop this season.
The price for the 90-kilogramme bag has slumped from Sh6,200 to Sh3,200 on the back of the scaling down of purchases by large scale millers and harvesting of short term crops such as potatoes and beans.
While the fall in prices is a relief for consumers who will pay less for flour, a staple for most households, some farmers in the North Rift region, the country’s food basket, have been thrown into panic selling.
This is due to fears of post-harvest losses during El Nino rains and delays by the government to provide dryers. ‘The prices are likely to drop further as farmers rush to sell the crop to cushion them against losses unless the government provides dryers,” said David Songok from Cheptiret, Uasin Gishu County.
The government has pledged to provide 100 dyers and purchase one million bags of the crop at Sh4,000 per a 90-kilogramme bag but the process is yet to kick-off.
Gorogoro maize
This comes as millers decry low sales as most consumers opt for posho mill flour, which they consider cheaper as compared to sifted maize flour.
“I buy a two kilogramme tin of maize at Sh100 and mill at Sh20 which is cost effective as opposed to the sifted flour,” said Jane Kosgei from Saos, Nandi County.
A two-kilogramme packet of maize flour goes for between Sh195 and Sh165 in most retail outlets in the North Rift region which consumers term too high despite harvest of this season crop.
Millers yesterday admitted that they are recording low sales for maize flour as consumers opt for the popular gorogoro maize following the harvest of this season’s produce in South Rift and parts of Western Kenya region.
“There is a drastic drop in sales that has affected profits and might also be forced to introduce cost cutting measures including laying off some of the workers to sustain operation,” said Kipngetich Mutai of Ineet millers in Eldoret.
