By Gerald Andae
Maize stocks are expected to tighten in East Africa’s next harvesting cycle due to limited supplies in Uganda and an expected export ban from Tanzania.
This could impact negatively on Kenya, which traditionally relies on the two neighbours for cross-border trade to bridge shortage of grain as the country is faced with an annual deficit of up to 10 million bags every year.
A market assessment report by the Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC) which was presented to the Ministry of Agriculture, indicates that Tanzania could have sufficient stocks but most of it could head to its southern neighbours’ while Uganda, just like Kenya, may have grain deficit due to delayed rainfall.
This implies that Kenya will not be out of the woods yet next year as the already tight maize supply is expected to persist. This will keep the current price of flour up, with the expected production decliner of 10 million bags in the current crop in the field piling more pressure on the staple…Read more>>
