The growing maize and wheat shortage in Kenya will lead to a food crisis unless urgently addressed, millers and agriculture industry players have warned.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers and the lobbyists yesterday said the shortage will steeply drive up the prices of these commodities and further aggravate inflation.
Rising international commodity prices coupled with a shortage has already pushed up prices, with a 2kg packet of maize flour currently retailing at between Sh155 and Sh165, from an average Sh117 same period last year.
That of wheat is going for between Sh185-195 compared to Sh128, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data.
KAM, Cereal Millers Association (CMA), Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA), Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), Agro-Processors Association of Kenya (APAK), Grain Belt Millers and Farmers Association (GBMFA), Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) and United Grain Millers Association (UGMA) issued a joint statement raising their concerns.
They want the government to immediately form a committee the Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operatives, National Treasury, and East African Community and Regional Development ministries to urgently tackle the matter.
They have also urged local farmers to release maize stocks to millers at prevailing prices.
The group wants the government to negotiate with Zambia and Tanzania for the importation of at least six million bags of maize.,
“It is also critical that government supports transport and logistics for the importation of maize from these countries,” the group said.
This they said would bring down the final cost of the foodstuff.
Transport costs have increased from $120 (Sh13,998 ) to $185 (Sh21, 580 )per tonne from Lusaka to Nairobi. Sea freight costs have also gone up since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and worsened by the Russia - Ukraine conflict.
The group further called for the immediate release of a Special Gazette Notice to allow duty free importation of European Union Standard maize, soya bean meal among others, by bona fide animal feed millers.
The government, they said should also create a fair and level playing ground, by fully exempting imported wheat and maize from import duty and some miscellaneous fees and charges.
It has so far allowed the importation of up to 540,000 metric tonnes of duty-free white non-GMO maize from Mexico to avert a crisis.
Kenya produces approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of wheat against an annual demand of 2.4 million metric tonnes.
Kenya imports 60 per cent of the deficit mainly from Ukraine and Russia where the ongoing war has disrupted the importation supply chain.
India is another net exporter of wheat bu Kenya has banned produce from the country due to aflatoxin concerns
Importers have turned to the expensive importation of wheat from USA, Argentina, Australia and Canada.
Kenya's maize production is estimated at 3.2 million metric tons per year against the consumption of 3.8 million metric tonnes. The deficit is bridged through imports from the region.
The delayed decision to waive duty means that it is difficult to source affordable maize at this time, which will impact the cost of the finished products.
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