Millers will continue milling premium flour alongside the brands covered under the subsidy scheme. High-end flour is not covered under the subsidy scheme as is the case with the other brands.
There have been fears that premium flour like Amaize and Hostess, which retails at a higher price than the other brands will be absent from the shelves as was the case in 2017 when millers stopped processing them following the introduction of a subsidy scheme by the government.
In 2017, the State directed millers to stop milling the premium flour after it offered subsidies in a bid to cut the price of flour from a high of Sh153 to Sh80.
“The high-end brands are not part of the subsidy programme but we are looking into how to manage over this period and we shall not disappoint our consumers,” said Capwell Industries chief executive Rajan Shah, whose firm makes the Amaize brand.
The price of Amaize and Hostess is Sh230 each, while those other brands such as Jogoo, Pembe, Ajab and Soko have so far dropped to Sh100 following a presidential directive last week.
Unga Limited, which manufactures the Hostess brand, said in its 2018 annual report that they could not process the premium flour in 2017 due to government restrictions. “Unfortunately, the company was not allowed to sell Hostess, its premium maize meal brand, during the subsidy period,” said Unga Limited in the 2018 report.
The State last week struck a deal with millers to cut the price of maize flour to Sh100 under a Treasury-backed subsidy.
The Ministry of Agriculture said millers will be offered an undisclosed subsidy to bring down the cost of the staple and offer relief to consumers.
President Mwai Kibaki in September 2011 signed into law a Bill that allowed Kenya to return to price controls of any essential commodity after the practice was abandoned in the 1990s in favour of economic liberalisation.
The law allows the Finance minister to set maximum prices of gazetted essential commodities upon consultation with the relevant industry.
