NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 10 – Kenya has entered into a deal with Zambia to import 540,000 metric tonnes of White Grade A non-GMO maize to bridge a grain deficit caused by depressed production in key growing regions due to drought.
The maize will be imported by Baita Trading Company Limited after the firm signed an agreement with Zambia’s Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
FRA Board Chairperson Suresh Desai said the deal would help connect Zambia’s growing maize production with reliable regional markets.
“As far as the price goes, there is an agreed pricing mechanism which will mean that at the commencement of each tranche, the two parties, Baita Trading Company of Kenya and Food Reserve Agency of Zambia, will meet and agree on a price,” Desai said.
He said the price would be determined by prevailing regional market and pricing levels at the time of each tranche.
Baita Trading Company Limited Director Martin Kinoti said the agreement followed two weeks of negotiations between the two sides.
“This is going a long way, not just for purposes of availing grain for the people of Kenya, but also in a long time, from what we have established in discussions, there has been an effort to try and strengthen relations in this context of sharing the food that we grow,” Kinoti said.
Depressed rainfall during the long rainy season between March and May has resulted in lower maize production in key growing regions, including the North Rift and parts of Western Kenya such as Bungoma County.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said on Wednesday that the government was considering a request by cereal millers to allow duty-free importation of three million tonnes of white maize as Kenya grapples with declining local production and the prospect of higher maize flour prices.
In a proposal to Agriculture CS Kagwe, the Cereal Millers Association (CMA) urged the State to gazette three million metric tonnes of white maize for duty-free importation, arguing that the move would lower maize costs, broaden sourcing options and cushion consumers against higher maize flour prices.
According to data, Kenya has an annual maize demand of 48 million 90-kilogram bags against consumption of between 55 million and 60 million 90-kilogram bags.
