The price of maize flour had begun to fall as farmers rush to release their maize stocks ahead of an importation window announced by the government that is set to start in just two weeks.
A 90-kilogramme bag of maize is now selling for Sh4,800 at the farm gate down from Sh5,000 last month with millers reporting an increase in availability at the market, according to the Business Daily.
“The prices have moved down in the last couple of weeks and we are paying Sh5,000 when delivered to us at the gate and Sh4,800 when we buy directly from the farms,” Atin Aggarwal, chief executive at Trident Millers told the publication.
The falling prices of maize have enabled most millers to reduce the cost of maize flour by at least Sh200 from Sh2,080 a bale in December to Sh1,950 currently.
This is expected to ease the cost of food for consumers of the staple ugali even before the government opens a flood gate for the importation of genetically modified maize which will push the cost of food lower.
The government said last month that it has opened a window for the importation of 10 million bags of maize to curb the shortage that has seen the cost of flour remain high in the market on the back of the high cost of the grain.
The importation window which will last till August is expected to cushion consumers before the next October harvesting window.