Kenya has declined Malawi’s request to buy 1.2 million tonnes of local maize to meet the shortage in the drought-hit southern Africa state.
A letter seen by the Business Daily, written on behalf of the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the director of crops, makes a request on behalf of Malawi.
In response, the director of crops Johnston Irungu says the country is not in a position to sell maize due to the limited stocks.
“Referring to your letter, we are not able at the moment to sell maize to Malawi as per their request. We currently have 10 million bags of maize which can only last for three months,” said Dr Irungu in the letter dated May 31.
In 2010, Malawi played a major role in exporting maize to Kenya at a time the country was faced with a serious shortage that saw the price of a two- kilogramme maize flour shoot to Sh150 for the first time in Kenya’s history.
Malawi is requesting for maize in the wake of a severe food shortage following a prolonged dry spell.
This is the first time Malawi has requested for maize from Kenya, which itself is a food deficit country and relies on cross-border imports from neighbouring countries to meet the annual requirement.
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Source: All Africa