Millers signal costly maize flour on surge in demand
Packets and bales of maize flour at Budget Stores along Moi Avenue, Mombasa.
The price of maize flour is expected to rise further this month on demand is projected to peak following the end of festive seasons when the staple was not in high demand.
According to millers, the price of flour is likely to touch the Sh130 mark for a two-kilogramme packet, from the current high of Sh122 that some brands are retailing at, after jumping from Sh108 last month.
December normally sees low demand for flour as households consume other foods such as wheat products and rice to mark the festive season.
“In December there is normally lower demand for maize flour as households consume more of other goods other than maize flour. By the end of this week we shall have a clearer picture of what the market will look like going forward,” said Ken Nyaga, chairperson of the United Millers Association.
The expected jump in the price of flour would be occasioned by the high price of 90-kg bag of maize that has now hit Sh3,200 when delivered to millers in Nairobi, from Sh2,800 previously.
Last month, millers complained that there was a shortage of produce in the market and even wrote a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture warning of an impending increase in the cost of flour due to the unavailability of sufficient stocks.
Trans Nzoia County — one of Kenya’s breadbaskets, ruled out a shortage of maize currently as claimed by millers, saying there were enough stocks with the farmers.
“We are just from harvesting our main crop and there shouldn’t be talks of a shortage at the moment. Millers have been saying that there is a shortage but I told them that we have enough maize, especially here in Trans-Nzoia,” said Dr Mary Nzomo, the Trans Nzoia Agriculture executive.
The National Cereals and Produce Board was forced last week to increase the price of maize by Sh300 to woo farmers in the wake of a shortage of maize.
The NCPB will now pay farmers Sh3,000 for a 90-kilo bag of maize up from Sh2,700 as it beefs up its stocks.
The new price will force millers and traders to increase the cost at which they buy the produce from farmers to get sufficient stocks
