Maize Farm [Photo: Imagine Care]
Kenya Feeds Manufacturers say maize flour is expected to remain costly on the back of expensive imports.
This is as transporters are charging 1,500 shillings for a single bag of maize transported from either Malawi or Zambia, from 600 shillings charged previously.
“Maize is relatively cheaper in Zambia and Malawi but when you factor in the transport cost, it becomes costly,” said John Gathogo – Kenya Feeds Manufacturers – publicity secretary.
This has in turn pushed the landing cost of a 90 Kg bag of maize to 6,000 shillings when it lands in Nairobi.
The high cost of transport is attributed to expensive fuel which has seen many trucks return empty to their respective countries.
This is as local millers say there is no local stock available in the country.
“We do not have local maize in supply at all and the only alternative at the moment is importing, which are not as cheap as we had thought because of charges involved in shipping,” said Ken Nyagah, chairperson of United Grain Millers Association.
The high cost of imported maize now means that consumers will have to contend with expensive flour, until the next harvesting season in October.
This is because the short rain crop which normally comes to the market around July did not perform well on the back of drought.
The price of maize flour in the country has been on an upward trend since the beginning of 2022, and this week it crossed the 200 shilling mark.
Most maize flour brands are retailing between 200 shillings and 220 shillings for a 2Kg packet.
A 2kg packet of Jogoo maize flour is retailing at 204 shillings, Pembe at 208 shillings, while Ajab goes for 206 shillings across the major shopping outlets.
This is an increase of about 50 shillings compared to last week.
Premium brands such as Amaize and Hostess retailed 204 shillings and 220 shillings respectively from 167 shillings a week ago.