Posted on August, 5, 2019 at 10:33 am
By AGATHA NGOTHO Science Writer - The Star
Wheat flour prices are likely to rise due to delay in importation.
Millers said wheat produced by farmers is not enough to sustain the demand, making import necessary.
Imports will help stabilise prices of wheat flour that average Sh120 per two-kilo packet.
Agriculture PS Hamadi Boga said the government is still in talks with millers, farmers and others in the value chain.
“I am sure we will all agree and come up with a solution,” he told the Star on the phone on Thursday.
A miller who did not want to be named said wheat production per season is 2.5 million to three million bags, just 10 per cent of what is required.
Ninety per cent of the wheat consumed is imported.
the government is yet to approve importation until we agree on the favourable price with farmers,” the miller said.
The Cereal Millers Association wants the government to approve the imports now, saying it will buy this year’s harvest from farmers at whichever price is agreed.
“We have been buying all the wheat produced by Kenyan farmers at a premium price for the last two decades. We are wondering why the government is now making it hard for us to do business,” the miller said.
Source: The Star