Kenya: Mithika Linturi now accuses some millers of playing dirty in the pricing of flour

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has accused a section of millers of frustrating government efforts to lower the cost of maize flour, saying they sold their duty-free import permits to third parties and slowed down the shipping of maize in the country. Mr Linturi said millers had transferred their import permits to unauthorised traders to avoid importing the grain, defeating the bid to lower flour prices. “Some millers were issued with a licence but they traded it with other people instead of importing maize,” said Mr Linturi. The Cabinet secretary has given millers up to April 30 to either show commitment to ship in duty-free maize or return the licenses. But in a twist of events on Tuesday at the ministry’s Kilimo House headquarters in Nairobi, millers accused the government of imposing an impractical maize landing price. Read: Why Kenya's maize import plan is facing headwinds The government had instructed traders and millers to sell imported maize at a maximum of ...