Govt to waive 50 per cent import duty on yellow maize to stabilise local prices

The government has announced a 50 per cent duty waiver on the importation of 5.5 million bags of yellow maize over the next year, a move aimed at easing pressure on local white maize stocks and stabilising maize flour (unga) prices.

The waiver will apply exclusively to vetted animal feed millers with the capacity to handle the imports.

"To address this, the government will gazette a 50 per cent duty waiver for the importation of 5.5 million bags of yellow maize over a one-year period," the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development stated.

"The objective is to reduce pressure on local white maize stocks by shifting animal feed millers to yellow maize."

By shifting livestock feed production to yellow maize, the initiative seeks to reduce competition between animal feed millers and maize millers for the limited white maize supplies in the country.

The ministry noted that this competition has pushed up the price of a 90-kilogram bag of maize by about 26 per cent in the past three months, resulting in higher unga prices as millers pass the increased costs to consumers.

Additionally, the government will release maize from the National Strategic Food Reserve to millers producing flour for human consumption, further mitigating the impact of rising unga prices.

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe encouraged local farmers to start growing yellow maize to meet the growing demand from the animal feed industry.

"I urge our farmers to consider the cultivation of yellow maize to meet the domestic demand of over 1 million metric tonnes required annually by the animal feed industry. This shift will help reduce dependency on imports and contribute positively to our economy," he said.

The government hopes these interventions will help stabilise unga prices by ensuring a more balanced supply of maize while also encouraging long-term domestic production solutions.