Kenyans have been assured that there is enough maize to last the country up to June.
The assurance came from Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri yesterday as he denied there is a maize crisis.
Kiunjuri said the government is this week releasing maize for human and animal feeds to millers. Some maize has started coming in from Tanzania. “Currently, we are safe since traders have started bringing maize from Tanzania.”
A document seen by the Star shows that large millers under the Cereal Millers Association will receive half of the 2.6 million bags - 1.1 million 90-kg bags. The small millers under United Grain Millers Association will receive 674,000 bags from the cereals board.
Seven other millers not affiliated to the two groups will get 867,000 bags.
Cereal Millers will receive a bigger share of maize because they have a daily milling capacity of 6,597 tonnes.
Small millers have a daily milling capacity of 4,200 tonnes, while the others have a capacity of 5,401 tonnes.
Chairman of the Strategic Food Reserve Noah Wekesa said on May 2 that millers will receive maize at Sh2,300 to help stabilise the price of a two-kg packet of maize flour in the market.
A 2 kg packet of flour is retailing at Sh120, up from Sh90 in January.
A 90kg bag of maize was last week retailing at between Sh3,300 and Sh3,500 in Nairobi. The price dropped to Sh3,100 on Monday.
Wekesa said selling the bag of the cereal at Sh2,300 to millers will ensure the price of flour is stabilised. A 2kg packet will not cost more than Sh90.
“Our mandate is to not only avail maize to the market but to also ensure that consumers are not exploited and that maize flour prices are affordable for the Kenyan consumer,” he said.
Wekesa said the government will release grades 1, 2 and 3 to millers for unga and will release other lower grades for animal feeds.
But according to the document, 638,532 bags of grade 1 maize will be reserved for schools and other government institutions.
Millers will receive 1.5 million bags of grade 2, another 575,000 bags of grade 3 and 553,000 bags of grade 4A.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
