The Agriculture Ministry has placed a moratorium on wheat imports, directing millers to purchase the produce held by farmers before they can be issued an import license.
Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe directed wheat millers to purchase 400,000 unbought bags of wheat from local farmers, stating that the government will only lift the moratorium to cater for the deficit.
The CS’s decision follows complaints from wheat farmers in Narok, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, and other counties over millers neglecting to buy their produce or purchasing it at unfairly low prices.
Leaders from wheat-growing regions, led by Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, have been advocating for better wheat prices, citing a market gap that has caused prices to plummet.
"We demand that the stalled local wheat be bought within a week, those millers importing wheat must stop importing until we have cleared the stock from local farmers," Governor Ntutu demanded.
Speaking after a meeting with millers and farmers Kagwe directed the millers to mop all the wheat by farmers before importing. He further directed them to sell the wheat at the agreed prices and nothing lower.
"Millers will now purchase 400,000 unbought bags before receiving import licences, ensuring farmers get the agreed Ksh5,300 for Grade 1 and Ksh5,200 for Grade 2 wheat," the CS said in an official statement to millers and farmers.
As part of the resolutions, CS Kagwe directed that all millers must first purchase all locally grown wheat that remains unsold. Only after this will the government, through the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), release the C60 import licences for 21 millers under the Cereal Millers Association (CMA).
Kagwe revealed that currently a total shipment of 260,000 bags imported by the millers is lying at the port of Mombasa and attracting a demurrage fee of US dollars 0.3 cents (Ksh39) per tonne per day.
Furthermore, the CS revealed that a new Wheat Sector Standing Committee will be established to enforce compliance and restore trust in the industry.
The committee will ensure adherence to local wheat purchase programmes, which require millers to buy locally before qualifying for the 10 per cent duty remission scheme under East African Community (EAC) rules and receiving their import allocation quota.
In developing its terms of reference, the CS urged the committee to leverage technology to curate reliable data, enhance credibility, and promote accountability and transparency in the sector. This, he noted, would lead to better incomes for farmers and contribute to food and nutrition security.
