Workers arranging flour at a Tuskys branch in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG The price of maize flour has gone up at major retail outlets, worsening the plight of households even as Covid-19 containment measures cut income streams.
A two-kilogramme packet of Capwell Industries’ Soko maize meal costs Sh134, Unga Group’s Jogoo is retailing at Sh132 while the rest of the brands go for at least Sh130 at key supermarkets in Nairobi.
This marks the steepest rise in the price of the staple that has held at Sh128 in the last three months, defying the State’s desire to keep it below Sh100.
Millers have attributed the current price to spike to the cost of while maize which has edged up in recent weeks following its scarcity in the market.
“There is shortage of maize at the moment and the current grain prices dictate cost of flour,” said Mr Ken Nyagah, the chairman of the United Millers Association.
The price had come down slightly by Sh2 in February as pressure on supply eased following the harvesting of the short rain crop in parts of eastern and central Kenya.
However, the cost of maize, which forms 80 percent of the expenses involved in milling of flour, shot to a high of Sh3,500 two weeks ago as Covid-19 containment measures interrupted the movement of grain from Uganda, which usually supplements the local stock.
The prices have so far come down 10 percent after the National Treasury announced that it would allow importation of two million bags of white maize, leading to release of stocks that had been hoarded by farmers.
Ministry of Agriculture has since said the State will allow traders to ship in four million bags, which comprises two million of white maize and an additional two million of yellow for animal feeds at a reduced duty.
Rising cost of food commodities normally has a negative impact on the cost of living. Inflation figures dropped marginally in March to 6.06 percent after hitting a 10-month high of 6.37 percent in February 2019, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Food items are a major driver of cost of living contributing up to 36 percent of the total basket of inflation.Maize stocks are expected to be boosted in July when South Rift region is expected to harvest its crop though the fears of locust that are ravaging different parts of the country could cause havoc.
