The ministry of Agriculture says the recommended retail price for Maize flour should not exceed Sh.100 for a 2kg packet.
It also capped the recommended price for a 5kg packet at Sh.250 and Sh.490 for a 10kg packet.
According to an internal communication document signed by Agriculture PS Francis Owino, the ministry of Agriculture will subsidize the price of maize flour produced and sold by millers for 4 weeks.
The document also states that the ministry will send representatives to the miller’s premises and depots to provide proof of maize flour sales in the market.
Flour prices hit Sh210 for a two-kilo packet, up from Sh120 at the start of the year following crop failure due to poor weather and a shift in the movement of Uganda maize to South Sudan.
Coupled with high fuel prices, inflation hit a 58-month high of 7.9 percent last month, breaching the government’s upper limit ceiling for the first time in nearly five years and further squeezing the stagnant earnings of households. Many families have been forced to skip meals and trim their budgets on other items.
The maize subsidy announcement comes just three weeks before Kenyans head to the polls on August 9.
The growing public outcry over the high cost of living would have dealt the government a blow and hurt the chances of candidates supported by the State, including presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
To enforce compliance, the ministry says it will dispatch representatives to the millers’ premises and depots to verify flour market prices.