The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has yet again reviewed upwards the price of maize that it is receiving from farmers.
NCPB had a few weeks ago increased the price to Ksh2,700 per 90-kilogram bag, but farmers insisted it was still too low.
Farmers had in November demanded that the lowest they can sell their maize to the cereals board was at Ksh3,000, at the time, the price had been set at Ksh2,350.
But in the latest review, NCPB has announced that it is receiving maize from farmers at Ksh3,000.
“NCPB is now buying maize at the price of Ksh.3,000 per 90kg bag. For more enquires visit your nearest NCPB branch,” the board said in a post on its official Facebook page.
The new price is, however, still lower than what millers are offering farmers.
At the time NCPB had set their price at Ksh2,700 per bag, millers were purchasing the same quantity at Ksh2,900.
This is contrary to the past where the cereals board was offering better prices than millers.
Several sources have, however, told Uasin Gishu News that an acute shortage of maize from neighboring countries could have forced millers to scramble for the locally available produce – pushing the prices higher.
Maize from Uganda and Tanzania has always been available in the local market at a far cheaper price due to the low cost of production.
The better prices being offered by millers is also as a result of the anticipated shortage of maize in the country due to low production, and the higher cost of importation, unlike the past seasons.
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[…] The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) recently increased the price of maize to Ksh3,000 per bag. […]