- The highest cost a bag of maize has reached was Sh4,000 in 2017.
- A spot check by the Star showed that a 2kg packet of Pembe maize meal is retailing at Sh134, Soko is at Sh146 and Ndovu and Dola are at Sh125 each.
Image: FILE
Prices of maize have reached a record high of between Sh4,200 and Sh4,300 per 90kg bag.
Eastern Africa Grain Council executive director Gerald Masila has warned of a looming maize crisis in the coming month.
He told Kenyans to brace for tough times ahead as prices of maize meal are likely to increase.
Speaking to the Star on Tuesday, Masila said maize prices have increased from around Sh3,600 for a 90kg bag of maize in January to the current price of Sh4,200.
"This is the best time to sell for anyone who currently has maize. I don’t think it is true when people say that some farmers are hoarding maize,” Masila said, adding that this is the highest the price of maize has been.
He said even in 2017 when there was a maize crisis, the price was at around Sh3,800 to Sh4,000 per 90 kg bag.
Masila further said that in 2017, Kenya had to import maize from Mexico to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of unga which had reached a high of Sh150 per two kilo packet of maize meal.
United Grain Millers Association chairman Kennedy Nyaga, an umbrella of small-scale millers in the country, said the price was the highest millers have had to buy maize.
“The highest we went was in 2016-2017 when the price was at Sh4,000 per 90 kg bag when the government had to intervene through the subsidised programme when the price of a two-kilo packet of unga was selling at Sh90,” Nyaga said.
He said millers are currently getting maize from Tanzania and it is not enough.
“We are facing hard times and if there is no intervention, prices of unga could go up to Sh150 in the next two weeks,” he said.
A spot check by the Star on Tuesday showed that a 2kg packet of Pembe maize meal is retailing at Sh134, Soko is at Sh146 and Ndovu and Dola are at Sh125 each.
Kifaru is at Sh142 while the premium brands of Hostess and Amaize maize meal are at Sh165 and Sh167 respectively.
Nyaga asked the government to intervene and allow for the importation of about four million bags of maize to cushion consumers from the high cost.
He said 2.5 million bags could be shared amongst millers while the remaining 1.5 million bags could be given to the Devolution ministry for relief food.
“Global prices for food and maize are currently high hence the need for the government to subsidise the cost of importation to cushion the consumer,” Nyaga said.
He further said millers have raised alarm on the projected price increase of maize. "We have even had several meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture, but no action has been taken."
In 2017, maize from Ethiopia came in around end of May and June while maize from Mexico came into the country around July and August because there was a 90-100-day window of importation.
“But now getting imports is a challenge as availability of vessels is a problem and it is also expensive," he said.
"Average world logistics have gone up by 40 per cent, and with the black sea situation where passage is a problem, this means they have to look for an alternative route...and this will increase the cost.
"The outlook is worrying and with the current supply and demand situation, and prices will continue to increase which will affect the price of maize meal.”
He said the next harvest the country is expecting from the South Rift in areas such as Sotik will come into the market from around July to August.
Masila said this will be coming at a time when prices of maize will still be high and the maize will get swept out immediately due to the looming shortage.
“We expect maize from Uganda and Tanzania from around July to August, but the main crop from Kenya will start getting in from October-November up to December because it takes time to dry the maize from the time of harvest," he said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)