Agriculture and Food Cabinet Secretary Sen. Mutahi Kagwe is considering a request by cereal millers to allow the duty-free importation of three million metric tonnes (MT) of white maize as Kenya confronts a sharp decline in domestic production and growing pressure on unga prices.
The proposed importation is aimed at cushioning consumers from possible maize shortages while ensuring millers have adequate stocks to maintain production of maize flour.
The Cereal Millers Association (CMA) has asked the Government to gazette three million MT of white maize for duty-free importation, arguing that the waiver would reduce landed costs, expand sourcing options and help keep unga prices affordable.
The association says Kenya is facing one of its steepest maize production declines in years, with only six major producing counties expected to produce more than one million bags during the current season.
“This is the steepest decline in production and it is huge for us,” CMA chief executive officer Paloma Fernandes said during a grain-sector meeting convened by CS Kagwe.
CMA is seeking a nine-month duty-free importation window, saying millers require sufficient time to negotiate supply contracts, secure financing and arrange transportation and shipping.
Fernandes said the extended window would also enable millers to source competitively priced, non-GMO white maize from both regional and international markets.
CS Kagwe indicated that the Government was willing to consider the nine-month window, noting that preparations must begin early to avoid a shortage.
“We cannot afford not to have maize,” Kagwe said.
Zambia and Tanzania have emerged as key regional sources of maize as Kenya seeks to bridge the anticipated supply gap.
Kenya’s High Commissioner to Zambia, Lilian Tomitom, told the meeting that Zambia has maize available for export and that Kenyan traders operating in Zambia and neighbouring Malawi are prepared to facilitate supplies to Kenyan millers.
“There is enough maize,” Tomitom said.
However, the cost of transporting maize from Zambia to Kenya remains a major challenge. Kagwe called for discussions with the Zambian Government to explore ways of lowering the source price and offsetting transportation costs to make Zambian maize more competitive in the Kenyan market.
The CMA also raised concerns over Kenya’s reliance on Tanzania as a major alternative source, noting that Dar es Salaam can restrict maize exports when domestic stocks come under pressure.
Such restrictions could disrupt supplies from Tanzania as well as maize from Zambia transported through Tanzanian routes.
Fernandes urged the Government to give millers flexibility to explore international markets whenever regional supplies become uncertain.
Alongside the proposed white maize imports, the Government is considering the gazettement of 360,000MT of yellow maize specifically for animal-feed manufacturers.
The intervention is expected to reduce the feed industry’s reliance on white maize, which is also a key staple for human consumption.
By directing feed manufacturers towards yellow maize, the Government hopes to release more white maize for food processing and reduce competition between animal-feed manufacturers and cereal millers.
The move could help increase the availability of food-grade maize for human consumption while supporting the supply of maize flour to consumers.
Kagwe, however, stressed that increasing maize imports must not come at the expense of food safety.
He directed that all imported maize must comply with Kenya’s sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, including standards on moisture content and aflatoxin contamination.
“Do not bring maize that is not going to pass the tests. There should be no maize in our stores that has been condemned,” the CS said.
Kagwe also called for faster laboratory testing of imported maize, saying quality checks should be completed within about 10 minutes instead of the current procedures that can take several hours or, in some cases, days.
He further called for the establishment of efficient one-stop border processes to reduce delays in clearing imported grain.
According to the CS, maize can spend between three and five days awaiting clearance at border points, increasing transportation, storage and financing costs. These additional costs are eventually transferred to consumers through higher food prices.
“Government must operate at the same pace as the private sector for efficiency,” Kagwe said.
The Government is also seeking to strengthen national grain reserves as part of efforts to improve food security.
The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has indicated that storage capacity equivalent to approximately two million 90kg bags is available for grain reserves.
“We want to stock our grain reserve,” Kagwe said.
Millers have meanwhile asked the Government to settle approximately KSh4 billion they say remains outstanding from a subsidy programme implemented about five years ago.
The CMA argues that settling the outstanding amount would strengthen millers’ finances and enable them to restock ahead of the anticipated supply challenges.
The maize shortage concerns come as Kenya also faces pressure in the wheat sector, exposing the country to simultaneous risks affecting two major staple foods.
Kagwe has called for increased domestic wheat production while the Government explores longer-term regional sources suitable for commercial cultivation.
The Agriculture and Food Authority is expected to organise a retreat to examine measures that could boost local wheat production, including mechanisation, irrigation and improvements in farm productivity.
For maize, the Government’s immediate strategy is taking shape around two interventions: increasing the availability of yellow maize for animal-feed manufacturing and considering duty-free imports of white maize for human consumption.
The measures are intended to secure adequate grain supplies before shortages become more severe, reduce competition for white maize and protect consumers from further increases in unga prices.
With domestic production at a seven-year low, the Government faces growing pressure to balance food affordability, farmer interests, food safety and the need to secure sufficient stocks for the country’s growing population.
Author: Moureen Koech
Moureen Koech is a passionate Digital Journalist, an adept Agribusiness Writer with a keen eye for news and an impactful story-teller,whose stories provide key value to Agripreneurs and stakeholders in the Agricultural sector
