Kenyan retailers deny hoarding of food items amid sharp price rise

Kenyan retailers on Thursday denied hoarding of essential food commodities as food prices rose sharply across the country due to severe drought ravaging the country.

Retail Trade Association of Kenya (RETRAK) chairman Wahome Muchiri said they have thus embarked on an engagement process with basic commodities suppliers to manage a prevailing shortage.

"As the representative umbrella body for the formal retail trade players in Kenya and on behalf of the supermarket sector, we are inclined to pursue this engagement so as to provide relief for our customers," Muchiri said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

He said some of the basic commodities currently in short supply include maize meal, sugar and dairy products.

Kenyans have complained about the shortage of food commodities and sharp increase in prices as families now eat less, pay more and watch as inflation forces them to dig deeper into their pockets.

A survey across various supermarkets in major cities and towns revealed that shoppers are being met by empty shelves and the brands they were used are no longer in stock as the impact of a prolonged drought, poor harvests and delayed government intervention turns into a reality.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in its latest monitoring of food prices in Eastern Africa, blames the spike in Kenya on reduced 2016 short rains harvest which is also being compounded by delayed onset of seasonal rains.

As a result, FAO says prices of maize are at near-record levels. Muchiri said the retailers who are the intermediary between the suppliers and the retail customers, continue to suffer due to poor and acutely erratic deliveries.

"Formal retailers avail products for sale at supplier recommended retail prices. Our members have no latitude to set prices at will and remain guided by the Suppliers current price guides," he said.

He said the retailers will be engaging suppliers on the prevailing challenges and are optimistic that normal supplies will resume soon.

"We therefore request retail customers to co-operate and oblige when called upon to pick products under rationing treatment such as maize meal or sugar, in limited numbers.

Thanking you for continued patronage and support," Muchiri said.

The millers' umbrella body, the Cereal Millers Association (CMA) has maintained that maize flour prices are unlikely to come down until July when the stock of grain available locally is expected to meet the country's needs.

The millers said in statement that the steep rise in the staple's prices is the result of a severe scarcity that is unlikely to be resolved until enough imported stocks land in the country.

The CMA said the consignment of maize expected to land in Mombasa today is not sufficient to stop ongoing price inflation.

"Since in the initial weeks of the import programme some millers will have access to imported maize and others will not, the CMA does not expect maize flour prices to stabilize until adequate imported grain stocks are distributed across all the mills," they said. Endit