On Sunday, a massive ship carrying over 42,000 metric tons of yellow maize is expected to dock in Mombasa.
This is the first shipment of subsidized maize to arrive in Kenya since the government authorized duty-free imports to address shortages in December of last year.
The MV Stellar Lady, carrying 42,464 tonnes of yellow maize from the Ukrainian port of Odessa, is scheduled to arrive in Mombasa on March 20, with no other ships expected before then.
This is good news for Kenyans because the shipment will help to alleviate the country’s Unga shortage.
At the same time, millers say they are concerned that a 90kg bag of yellow maize will not sell for the Sh4,200 target set by the government, and that the global market is also experiencing shortages.
The millers also complained about not being paid for previous imports and asked President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua to intervene.
