The Kenyan Cereal Market That Was… This Time Last Year (24th September 2014)

As the price of food drastically goes up, I could not help but notice the huge price increase in dry cereals and grains.  Pigeon Peas last year were selling at Ksh. 58/kg, this year due to increased shortage resulting from the huge export market to India, the Pigeon Peas prices increased to a whooping Ksh. 220/kg (380%) and still there is currently a huge shortage in Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi.  Pigeon peas are certainly headed for India, posting the highest profit of Ksh. 12,780/90kg bag for the farmers who are keen on the global markets.

Doliches (Njahi) prices shot up by Ksh. 5,000/90kg bag, due to limited supply in Tanzania.  Groundnuts prices have increased by Ksh. 3,000/90kg bag up from Ksh. 10,500 (September 2014) to 13,500 (September 2015).  Kenyans mostly consume groundnuts imported from Malawi who are low cost producers, and seem to have a way of cleaning and sorting the commodity at a much lower cost than their Kenyan counterparts. Cowpeas increased by Ksh. 1,800/90kg bag.  The short duration at which the commodity grows should be an incentive to make a quick buck before the expected heavy rains this coming season.  Green grams increased by Ksh. 1,100/90kg bag in comparison to 2014, while the prices of beans generally increased by Ksh. 100/90kg bag.

So what does this mean for the East African Farmers? Farmers groups in the semi-arid areas of the region especially, where pigeon peas and cowpeas grow very well, should collectively grow the commodity as groups in order to take advantage of increased expected rainfall.  Secondly aggregating pigeon peas is certainly proving to be a bigger headache for major suppliers, mostly because many farmers have prioritized maize and beans over pigeon peas because they choose to remain completely oblivious of the changing dynamics in the global market.

Author:  Fostina Mani, Group Marketing Director, Betta Grains, [email protected],