Maize flour prices yet to reduce at several outlets in Nyeri

Nyeri, Thursday April 27, 2023

KNA by Samuel Maina/Yvette Kimani

The cost of maize flour is yet to come down in major retail outlets in Nyeri despite high expectations by consumers that the prices will reduce this week.

The Government had hinted that prices of the crucial commodity which is the staple food to millions of Kenyans would come down after a ship docked at the port of Mombasa on April 5 with 21,455 metric tonnes of white maize from Mozambique.

And on April 22 President William Ruto while speaking in Meru County during a development tour, had announced there could be a reduction in the prices of maize flour beginning this week.

But a spot check by KNA at leading retail chains in Nyeri town has revealed no adjustments on popular maize flour brands on their shelves.

For instance, at the Maathai Supermarket the cheapest brand of maize flour was Festive which was retailing at ah 180 while the most expensive one was Amaize at Sh 235.

James Kinuthia, an attendant at Mathai Supermarket told KNA they were still waiting for communication from their suppliers before they could adjust prices of their stocks downwards.

He said the reason they had not reduced their prices was because millers who supply them are yet to adjust theirs.

And in a bid to ease the cost burden on their clients, the retail chain store has been forced to launch a sale offer where clients are now buying maize flour at a discounted price of   Sh 3 and Sh 5.

“In a bid to woo new buyers and retain our usual customers we have decided to reduce prices on some of our maize flour brands by between Sh 3 and Sh 5. For instance, the price of a 2-kilogram packet of Papo Hapo maize flour has been reduced from Sh 204 from Sh 201.Similarly a 2-kilogram of the Mama Maize flour is now selling at Sh 193 down from Sh 198,” he explained.

When we visited Chieni supermarket, we found the cheapest maize flour brand on sale was the Pala which is going at Sh 175.

On the other hand, Maisha and Kozi maize meal brands were selling at Sh 195 and Sh 188 respectively.

At Naivas supermarket, a two-kilogram packet of Soko was retailing at sh188 down from Sh 207, while a similar quantity of Pembe and Amaize flour brands was going at Sh 208and Sh 249 respectively.

Yesterday Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi threatened to revoke duty-free licenses issued to maize millers and grain handlers to import maize to stabilise soaring prices and boost supply after it emerged prices for the commodity had not come down.

He warned that failure by value chains to demonstrate their readiness to participate in importation of maize would lead to their licenses being revoked by Thursday next week.        

“The millers and grain importers must show proof of trade documents to ascertain that they have commenced importation of the commodities,” he said during a consultative meeting with millers and grain importers at Kilimo House.

However, the millers are complaining   that the price of Sh 4,200 per 90-kilogramme bag is not attainable based on the prevailing trends in the global market

In addition, the millers have complained that there are limited maize reserves in the global market pushing the prices up of available stocks. It is estimated that Kenya consumes more than 4 million bags of maize a month and with about 51 million bags needed annually to feed the country.

However, the country’s food reserves have been shrinking over the years due to worsening climate changes with maize production standing at 38 million bags in 2021 down from 42 million bags the previous year.

Kenya mainly imports maize, unmilled wheat and wheat flour, rice, and sugar from Uganda, South Africa, Europe, India, and the United States.

Between 2022 and 2023 Kenya’s maize production was forecast at 3.2 million metric tonnes (MMT), largely unchanged from previous year due to high fertiliser prices and farmers switching to alternative crops.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics figures show that food import prices rose 18 per cent to 183.93 billion shillings in 2022 from 155.42 billion shillings during a similar period in 2021.

Courtesy; K.N.A