Cereal Millers Association warn delay in C60 import approvals threatens wheat flour prices
The association has stressed that every additional day of delay adds expenses without benefiting farmers, millers or consumers.
KENYA – Wheat millers have warned that delays in the release of C60 wheat import approvals could push up the prices of wheat flour, bread, chapatis and other wheat-based products.
The Cereal Millers Association (CMA) said continued delays in approvals are preventing imported wheat consignments from clearing normally, thereby increasing demurrage, storage, and financing costs.
A C60 is a government control document that allows an approved miller to import a specified quantity of wheat under the Duty Remission Scheme for processing into flour for the Kenyan market.
Under Kenya’s existing grain framework, millers are required to exhaust available domestic grain through the Local Wheat Purchase Programme before securing import clearances.
CMA members emphasized that they have fully honored this mandate, agreeing to purchase local wheat at KSh 5,100 per 90-kilogram bag, up from the previous benchmark of KSh 4,750, while contributing approximately KSh 2 billion annually in Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) levies to support local growers.
Consumers are already feeling pressure at the till. A spot check on select retail stores in Nairobi showed a two-kilogramme packet of whole-wheat flour retailing for between KSh189 and KSh212.
The Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA) estimates Kenya’s annual wheat requirement at between 2.2 million and 2.4 million tonnes.
Kenya meets about 95% of its wheat requirements through imports, with local production satisfying only 5% of domestic demand. International wheat prices surged 5.8% in July amid escalating conflict and logistics bottlenecks across Black Sea shipping lanes.
The delays are occurring against a backdrop of broader international supply chain risks. Kenyan millers have also pointed to disruptions affecting Black Sea wheat exports and damage to export infrastructure, which could increase shipping, insurance and other logistics costs.
Although international wheat prices have not necessarily reached previous crisis levels, higher freight and risk-related expenses could raise the landed cost of wheat arriving in Kenya.
CMA Chief Executive Officer Paloma Fernandes stressed that administrative delays add friction to the food supply chain without offering any economic benefit to farmers, millers, or households.
She urged the AFA and relevant government ministries to expedite the release of pending import permits and prioritize consignments already sitting at Mombasa port to ensure processing mills can maintain continuous, uninterrupted flour output.
Industry representatives warned that adding domestic administrative delays on top of rising global freight and insurance costs threatens national food security, calling on regulatory authorities to streamline clearance procedures and stabilize retail food costs.
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