Commodities

Retailers keep flour at below Sh115 a packet

bett

Agriculture secretary Willy Bett. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Millers Thursday appeared to have complied with a government directive that cautioned them against pushing maize flour prices past Sh115 for a two-kilogramme packet.

A spot check by the Business Daily at several supermarkets within Nairobi’s central business district (CBD) revealed prices for most brands range between Sh108 and Sh114 a packet.

READ: Millers say they have exhausted stocks of subsidised maize

The only white maize flour brand retailing at between Sh149 and Sh154 is Unga Group’s premium brand Hostess.

Naivas chief operating officer Willy Kimani said retailers are getting the commodity from millers at a range of between Sh100 and Sh107 a packet.

“I have a confidentiality agreement with my supplier, so I can’t give you the exact price,” said Mr Kimani.

Strict measures

On Wednesday, Agriculture secretary Willy Bett said the government would step in with strict measures, which he did not specify to tame millers who charge exorbitant prices.

He said the government was buying maize for Sh3,200 per 90 kilogramme bag yet millers were getting the same at a much lower price.

“Most millers are buying maize at around Sh2,700 so the cost of flour should never go beyond Sh115 because the amount of money we are paying as government is Sh3,200,” Mr Bett said.

Also, latest reports indicate that brokers are buying the 90 kilogramme bag of maize from farmers at Sh1,800 and selling it to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) at Sh3,200.

READ: Brokers cash in on Sh7bn NCPB maize purchases

ALSO READ: EDITORIAL: Maize cartels ripping off taxpayers, consumers

The six-month maize import subsidy programme ended on the eve of the New Year.

Regional drought

In May 2017, the government had announced subsidy of Sh6 billion to maize importers to help lower the cost of flour, which had shot up due to a regional drought.

The subsidy cut the price of a 90-kilogramme bag of maize to Sh2,300 from above Sh4,000, allowing the two kilogramme packet of flour to be sold for Sh90 against the market cost of Sh140.

However, millers say they have exhausted subsidised maize that in part saw inflation fall to a a 55-month low of 4.5 per cent in December.

“The year-on-year food inflation dropped from 5.79 per cent in November to 4.68 per cent in December 2017,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in a statement.