A buyer samples maize flour at a supermarket in Nairobi. [Photo/ businessdailyafrica.com]
An acute deficit of maize flour being experienced in the domestic market is pushing the country into a potential food crisis.Retail outlets in Nairobi have run out of stocks while others are selling just one brand of flour, implying prices could hit highs again as millers say they have run short of maize.A Saturday spot check at Nairobi’s Central Business District showed Naivas Supermarket along Ronald Ngala Street had only stocked premium brands of Hostess selling at Sh184.Tuskys Supermarket along the same Street had Kifaru brand retailing at Sh132 per two kilogram packet.The chairman of the Cereal Millers Association Nick Hutchinson told journalists millers might be forced to suspend production due to maize shortage.“There are no stocks to mill at all and our hopes are on maize from Mexico that is expected next month,” he said.Last week the government opened a window for white and yellow maize imports to cushion the domestic shortage.The country is importing maize from Mexico to neutralize high flour prices that hit Sh135 per two kilogram packet before dropping to Sh132 at the end of April, following the release of cheap maize from the National Cereals and Produce Board.The importation of the maize from Mexico is expected to take 45 days and the earliest it will arrive in the country is early June.The Agriculture ministry released one million bags of maize at a cost of Sh3,000 per 90-kilogram bag in March/April but millers bought only 600,000 bags citing transportation challenges.Data from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics shows high food prices made inflation shoot from 10.8 percent in March to 11.48 percent in April, the highest since 2012.