The Kenyan government has waived import duty on maize and rice for a period of six months to ease shortage of the cereals and avert a food crisis.
The prices of maize flour and rice in Kenya have gone up sharply in recent months due to low local production caused by a persistent drought and high cost of inputs such as fertiliser and diesel.
This even as the government recently lifted the ban on the growing and importation of genetically modified (GM) maize, which it said would allow the country to access much cheaper maize from the global market.
The Ministry of Agriculture has announced that traders will be allowed to import up to 900,000 tonnes of duty-free white maize and 600,000 of duty-free milled rice from February to August next year.
“(This will) enable the country to have adequate stocks to last until next harvest from July to August 2023. The duty waiver shall apply to white maize and milled rice imported into the country by August 6, 2023 by millers and traders,” said the State Department for Crop Development.
