Kenya will allow maize imports from outside the East African Community (EAC) to ease the current hike in flour prices that now stand at a historic high of Sh150 for a two-kilo packet.
Agriculture Cabinet secretary Peter Munya said the imports will give consumers a reprieve and push cartels hoarding maize to release it to the market.
He said that the first consignment will arrive 45 days after the date that the orders would be made.
“We are going to run out of maize in the next few months and to control the rising cost of flour, we need to import the produce,” the CS said.
Munya also claimed that imports will be restricted to what is needed by those who will be selected and licensed to bar cartels from shipping in excessive stocks.
The price of a 90-kilo bag of maize now retails at Sh4,500 from Sh2,800 in December and Sh3,700 in March due to scarcity in the market.
The CS had accused farmers of holding 85% of the total stock of maize in the county, to release at a hiked price.
A report from the ministry for shows that farmers were holding 8.5 million bags of maize stocks out of 10.1 million bags of 90Kgs, exposing millers to acute shortage of maize.
Millers and traders only have1.5 million bags while the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) have nothing in their stores.
Millers have raised concerns over the flow of stocks from local farmers hinting that there will be acute shortage in the coming days.
Munya also claimed that Kenya is currently facing a shortage of supply from the regional markets as Uganda sells most of its maize to South Sudan where price are good.
