Tanzania has stopped issuing Kenyan traders with maize export permits in a move that might see a higher increase in the price of maize flour.
A report that appeared in a local daily newspaper quoted several maize millers saying that the neighbouring country stopped issuing the permits last week.
We have been unable to get maize from Tanzania since last week after the country stopped issuing export permits to traders with the cutting off of stocks from Tanzania expected to push up the cost of flour,” the daily quoted Ken Nyaga who is the chairperson of the United Grain Millers Association.
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According to the report, maize millers from Kenya are issued with a one-off permit for grain export from Tanzania. This means that they need to apply for a new one every time they intend to ship maize out of that country.
The millers told the daily that the permits freeze is likely to push up the price of maize locally to Sh. 5,900 for a 90 kilogramme bag from Sh. 5,400.
The report further quoted the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) saying that the maize coming in through the Namanga border has significantly declined. Instead, most of the maize coming in is from Zambia.
“We have witnessed a significant decline in maize coming in from Tanzania; on average we are now getting 10 trucks from a high of 80 trucks previously,” the report quoted a KEBS official stationed at Namanga border point.
