Kenya halves import duty on yellow maize to curb soaring flour, feed prices

KENYA – The Kenyan government recently announced a 50% duty waiver on the importation of 5.5 million bags of yellow maize over the next year to tame the rising cost of maize flour and animal feed. 

The policy, awaiting formal gazettal, is intended to ease mounting pressure on white maize supplies that have driven the price of a 90-kilogram bag to KES 4,800 (US$42.72), with further increases projected in the coming months. 

This has sparked fears that ugali, the country’s staple dish, may soon become unaffordable for many households.

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the waiver aims to reduce the stiff competition between food millers and animal feed manufacturers for the scarce white maize stock. 

The government hopes to stabilise human food prices and livestock feed prices by channelling animal feed producers toward non-GMO yellow maize.

“This intervention will lower production costs for flour millers, improve white maize availability for human consumption, and ultimately reduce unga prices for consumers,” Kagwe explained.

The yellow maize imports will be reserved for certified feed millers with adequate processing capacity.

In the long term, Kagwe urged local farmers to embrace the cultivation of yellow maize to meet the feed industry’s annual demand of over 1 million metric tonnes—a move he said would enhance food security and reduce reliance on imports.

The government’s decision comes in response to mounting pressure from industry players such as the Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA) and the Poultry Breeders Association of Kenya (PBAK). 

Both groups warned that the surging cost of maize is crippling the livestock sector, with poultry farmers particularly affected by skyrocketing feed prices.

U.S. government criticises tariff

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has taken issue with Kenya’s 50% maize import tariff, arguing it hampers American corn exports. 

U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer criticised Kenya’s regulatory hurdles and tariffs, calling for fairer access to the country’s feed maize market, currently valued at KES 6.47 billion (approximately US$50 million) and projected to grow by 30% by 2027.

Despite the current supply crunch, optimism is on the horizon. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Kenya’s maize production is expected to rise to 4.4 million metric tonnes in the 2025/2026 season—a 15.8% increase over the previous year—thanks to a 9.5% expansion in cultivated area.

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