Reprieve for consumers as millers start stocking maize harvested locally
The struggle for cheaper maize flour may soon be over following the expected harvest in parts of Kenya’s food basket Nyanza, South Rift and Western regions next week.
This will come as a reprieve for consumers and millers as the expected harvest is set to stabilise maize supply in the country.
Coupled with cheaper produce from neighbouring countries, the harvest is expected to reduce the price of the 90Kg bag from an estimated Sh6,000 currently.
On average in the past few years, farmers have been selling their produce at between Sh2,700 and Sh3,100.
Subsidy programme
Agriculture Principal Secretary Francis Owino said recently that Sh160.9 million had been processed for millers in a deal that saw price of Unga reduced to Sh100.
This was part of the Sh325 million invoices from 128 millers under the subsidy programme. Kipng’etich Mutai, chairman of Grain Belt Millers Association said that the harvest of the crop in Nyanza and former Western Province has made maize available for millers.
“We’re currently receiving maize from Narok, Bomet and other parts of South Rift,” he said. About 3.2 million kilogrammes of maize flour has been supplied to the market under the subsidy.
Despite the subsidy programme, high demand for the commodity has led to a scramble that has left many Kenyans unable to access the product.
This has left most retail outlets selling premium brands such as Amaize and Hostess, with a 2kg pack retailing between Sh230-250.
Major retail outlets
In the programme, Ministry of Agriculture said it would give millers a subsidy for a month to bring down the cost of maize flour, which is retailing at even more than Sh210 for a two-kilogramme packet at major retail outlets, to about Sh100 a piece.
The timely harvest will come in handy to Kenyans after inflation accelerated to a record high in July amid an increased cost of food and fuel coupled with a costly transport and housing budget for the common mwananchi.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows the overall rate of inflation in July was 8.3 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent in June.
In the latest figures, Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households, increased by 0.7 per cent from an index of 124.22 in June 2022 to 125.05 in July 2022.
The struggle for cheaper maize flour may soon be over following the expected harvest in parts of Kenya’s food basket Nyanza, South Rift and Western regions next week.
This will come as a reprieve for consumers and millers as the expected harvest is set to stabilise maize supply in the country.
Coupled with cheaper produce from neighbouring countries, the harvest is expected to reduce the price of the 90Kg bag from an estimated Sh6,000 currently.
On average in the past few years, farmers have been selling their produce at between Sh2,700 and Sh3,100.
Subsidy programme
Agriculture Principal Secretary Francis Owino said recently that Sh160.9 million had been processed for millers in a deal that saw price of Unga reduced to Sh100.
This was part of the Sh325 million invoices from 128 millers under the subsidy programme. Kipng’etich Mutai, chairman of Grain Belt Millers Association said that the harvest of the crop in Nyanza and former Western Province has made maize available for millers.
“We’re currently receiving maize from Narok, Bomet and other parts of South Rift,” he said. About 3.2 million kilogrammes of maize flour has been supplied to the market under the subsidy.
Despite the subsidy programme, high demand for the commodity has led to a scramble that has left many Kenyans unable to access the product.
This has left most retail outlets selling premium brands such as Amaize and Hostess, with a 2kg pack retailing between Sh230-250.
Major retail outlets
In the programme, Ministry of Agriculture said it would give millers a subsidy for a month to bring down the cost of maize flour, which is retailing at even more than Sh210 for a two-kilogramme packet at major retail outlets, to about Sh100 a piece.
The timely harvest will come in handy to Kenyans after inflation accelerated to a record high in July amid an increased cost of food and fuel coupled with a costly transport and housing budget for the common mwananchi.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows the overall rate of inflation in July was 8.3 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent in June.
In the latest figures, Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households, increased by 0.7 per cent from an index of 124.22 in June 2022 to 125.05 in July 2022.
