Sifted flour demand drops as buyers shift to posho mills

A man uses his posho mill at Imuliro Village in Ikolomani. FILE PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NMG

What you need to know:

  • Cereal Millers Association, a lobby of grain processors, said the sales of sifted maize meal has slowed down drastically over the past few months.
  • The low demand has triggered a reduction in sifted maize flour prices for the first time in nearly two years.

The demand for sifted maize flour has dropped significantly as consumers turn to cheaper supplies from posho mills.

The Cereal Millers Association, a lobby of grain processors, said the sales of sifted maize meal has slowed down drastically over the past few months as many households reported reduced or lost income due to pay cuts or retrenchment by corporates hurt by the economic disruption of the pandemic.

“Demand is very low at the moment, in fact it worse than it was a few months ago when Covid-19 had just struck. Low purchasing power has now seen consumers opt for posho mill flour because it is now affordable to buy maize,” association chairman Kennedy Nyagah said.

The low demand has triggered a reduction in sifted maize flour prices for the first time in nearly two years. For example, a market survey shows that a two-kilogramme packet of the Soko brand now retails at Sh103, down from Sh115 while Jogoo and Pembe brands are currently selling at Sh110 and Sh108, respectively.

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