Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Wednesday asked millers to purchase all the locally grown wheat that has not been purchased.
The purchase amounts to 400,000 bags, subsequent to which the government, through the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), will release the C60 import licenses for the 21 millers under the Cereal Millers Association (CMA).
A total shipment of 260,000 bags imported by the millers is lying at the port of Mombasa and attracting a demurrage fee of US$ 0.3 cents per tonne per day and only a total of 1.3 million bags have been bought so far.
Kagwe, who held a day-long meeting with wheat farmers and millers, further urged farmers to sell their wheat at the set prices of Sh5,300 per bag for Grade 1 wheat and Sh5,200 per bag for Grade 2 and not to accept lower prices. "To restore trust in the tripartite agreement signed in 2010 between the Cereal Millers Association (CMA) and Cereal Growers Association (CGA), with the government as a guarantor, to have millers' buy wheat at mutually agreed prices, and protect the interests of farmers at all costs, a Wheat Sector Standing Committee composed of the Ministry, CMA, CGA, NCPB, AFA, County governments and farmers was formed.
