A ship carrying 10,000 tonnes of maize is set to dock at the port of Mombasa today. According to a report that appeared in a local business newspaper on Tuesday, the ship will dock even before a gazette notice on the importation of the maize is issued.
The report quoted a manifest from the Kenya Ports Authority which allegedly shows that the maize is aboard the African Merlin vessel.
The vessel will dock on the backdrop of a storm over the importation of genetically modified maize. However, it was not immediately clear if he vessel docking at the port today is ferrying GMO maize.
According to Trade cabinet secretary Moses Kuria, the gazette notice on the importation of the GMO maize was set to be released this week.
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According to Kuria, the government will not import the maize, but will allow independent companies to import the maize duty free.
“The gazette notice that we will release will open up the market to millers and anyone to import maize duty-free for six months. The government will not import any maize,” said CS Kuria.
The importation of maize has raised fears of creating a market glut as farmers in the Trans Nzoia region are currently harvesting their produce.
However, maize millers have lamented that they are unable to get sufficient maize from farmers despite offering high prices for the ninety kilogram bag.