The government has considered the views of millers, who had requested a two-month window for imports.
Maize imports attract a duty of 50 percent in East Africa.
Through a special gazette notice published on April 20, the National Treasury had cut the duty to 14 percent (white) and 10 percent for yellow maize.
Millers had already warned last week that the price of flour would go up in the absence of imports to bridge the local deficit.
The government has yielded to pressure from millers to extend the timeframe for importing low-duty maize from Mexico to avert a looming shortage of the commodity.
Agriculture Secretary Peter Munya said Monday the government had considered the views of millers, who had requested a two-month window for imports.
“We have extended the notice because millers said that they needed up to two months to import the produce. I do not know why they did not say this at the beginning before we made the first gazettement,” he said.
Maize imports attract a duty of 50 percent in East Africa. Through a special gazette notice published on April 20, the National Treasury had cut the duty to 14 percent (white) and 10 percent for yellow maize.
The low duty importation window was to run up to May 30, allowing local millers to ship in two million bags of each of white and yellow maize.
However, millers wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture, saying the time given was not sufficient especially with the Covid-19 measures having slowed cargo clearance across the world.
The extension comes as a relief to consumers who have been staring at higher prices of flour in the wake of reduced supply of maize in the market.
Millers had already warned last week that the price of flour would go up in the absence of imports to bridge the local deficit.
Chief executive at Cereal Grain Growers Anthony Kioko said the imports should be managed in a way that it would not interfere with the expected harvest of the short rain crops in the South Rift, which normally begins in June on a low scale and goes all the way to August.
“There is a likelihood of imports overlapping with the short rain crop from South Rift as importation window might spread to August and this will impact negatively on farmers,” he said.
The government’s move brings to question its preparedness on making policies given that calls for imports had been going on since last year after it was projected that the 2019 stocks would not last beyond May.
The Ministry of Agriculture announced last year that imports would be necessary this year.
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