The Treasury has suspended tax on maize imports to allow importers to ship in maize from outside the East African Community (EAC) to cure the shortage of the important food commodity in the country
Kenya allows duty free imports of maize only from EAC member countries but imports from outside the EAC market attract a 50 percent tariff.
The Treasury says imports of up to 540,000 tonnes will not be charged import fee until August 6.
The government says Kenya might be faced with acute maize shortage unless imports from outside EAC are allowed
Kenya had restricted maize imports from outside the EAC to cushion local maize growers
The country registered a decline in maize harvest by 12.8 percent from 42.1 million bags in 2020 to 36.7 million bags in 2021