The importation of maize from Tanzania and Uganda increased in May after the Government lifted the ban on importation.
In March 5, this year, the government through the Agriculture and Food Authority stopped with immediate effect importation of maize.
The ban was due to high levels of aflatoxin in maize coming from neighboring countries of Tanzania and Uganda.
To address this, the Ministry issued stringent measures that importers/traders were required to adhere to.
However, some of the tight rules were dropped following interventions from the Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu during her visit to Kenya in May.
According to the May Food and Nutrition Security report released last week by the Ministry of Agriculture, the imports of maize and rice increased in May, while imports of wheat and beans declined marginally.
The report noted that there was reduced importation of maize in April, which is attributed to restriction of importation of maize across the region.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network informal cross border trade reported that the total quantity of maize import for the month of April was 16,731 bags.
In May 2021, the total imports increased to 118,329 bags. The total maize imports from January to May stands at 1,381990 bags compared to a total of 495,813 bags imported at the same period in 2020.
The food report showed that the quantity of wheat grain imported in May 2021 decreased slightly to 1,701,552 90 kg bags compared to 1,779,602 90 kg bags imported in April 2021.
“The total quantity of wheat import from January to May stood at 9,100,707 bags compared to a total of 8,104,041 bags for the same period in 2020. The amount of beans imported in May decreased slightly to 16,461 bags (90Kg Bags) compared to 71,566bags in April. The total quantity of beans imports from January to May 2021 stands at 287,031bags compared to a total of 215,014 bags for the same period in 2020,” the report read.
The rice imports trends from January 2020 to May 2021 indicated that the quantity of rice imported in May 2021 increased to 324,910 bags (90Kg Bags) compared to 121,711 bags imported in April. The cumulative quantity imported stands from January–April stands at 2,401,005 (90 kg Bags).
