Alice Mukami inspects her maize farm in Chorong'i village, Nyeri county, on January 31, 2024. Farmers in the region are expecting a bumper harvest following favorable weather for the last six months. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
Maize prices dropped by 12.7 per cent last year, driven by improved local harvests courtesy of good weather, and the fertiliser subsidy programme.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that prices of the staple food eased to an average of Sh70.2 per kilogramme in December 2023, compared to Sh80.5 in the previous year.
The fall has been a major relief for consumers as it has lowered the cost of unga consumed in many households.
KNBS data shows that the price of a two-kilogram packet of sifted maize flour declined by 14.9 per cent between December 2022 and December 2023 from Sh182.14 to Sh155.07.
However, the price rose marginally in the month to December.
“The average monthly retail market price for one kilogramme of maize rose from Sh69.2 in November 2023 to Sh70.2 in December 2023,” said KNBS.
The latest figures for maize production for 2023 have yet to be published, but the government earlier indicated that the country would harvest about 40 million bags of grain.
This would mark a significant increase from an output of 36.7 million bags in the previous year.
Maize is a staple food in Kenya and, therefore, its price has a huge bearing on the cost of living of Kenyans.
The cereal is grown locally but local production does not meet demand which keeps growing each year.
Further, production has been hampered by drought and land fragmentation in recent years amid high costs of inputs, leading to diminished harvests.
KNBS data for instance shows the country harvested only 34.3 million bags of maize in 2022, a significant drop from 36.7 million bags in the previous year.
