KENYA – Soybean prices in Kenya have surged by more than Sh15(US$0.12) since March, with a kilo now selling at Sh115 (US$0.8) compared to Sh97(US$0.74) earlier, according to the Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA).
The association attributed the surge to a global shortage, as Zambia and Malawi, traditional sources of soybean for Kenya, have stopped exporting domestically, while Uganda’s harvest was low.
Soybean remains the most important and preferred source of high-quality vegetable protein for animal feed manufacturers in Kenya.
Last month, Livestock PS Jonathan Mueke urged farmers to start producing soybean and sunflowers to provide millers with raw materials, as the shortage of raw materials is a major obstacle to the growth of the animal feed sector.
Some farmers in Western, Nyanza, and Eastern Kenya have embraced sunflower and soybean farming, with the government seeking an extension of the waiver on importation of raw materials to help millers not transfer the cost to the farmers.
In January 2023, AKEFEMA requested the government to give an extension of duty waiver on raw materials to make animal feeds, including yellow maize, soya beans meals, and vitamin premixes.
The Kenyan government agreed to waive duties on all inputs for feed production for 13 months, which was crucial in keeping feed prices stable.
Currently, a 70kg bag of most of the different types of feed meals sells at between Sh3,500(US$26.87) and Sh4,500 (US$34.55).
Kiambu Poultry Farmers Cooperative Society chairperson Zachary Munyambu attributed the high production costs to the scarcity and rising prices of raw materials for animal feed, with a 50kg bag of chick mash selling at Sh4,200 (US$32.25), layers mash at Sh3,800 (US$29.18), growers mash at Sh3,400 (US$26.11) and kienyeji mash at Sh2,600(US$US19.96).
Munyambu urged the government to allow the importation of genetically modified maize and yellow maize for animal feed production, as well as work towards producing their own soybean and sunflower for feed milling to ensure Kenyan poultry, pig, and dairy farmers can be competitive.
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