Prices of animal feed remain high despite the government extending duty waiver for manufacturers to import raw materials. 

John Gathogo from the Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA) said it will take some time for prices of animal feeds to start stabilizing despite the extension.

He attributed the high prices to scarcity and high cost of raw materials like soya beans and maize in the global market.  

Gathogo told the Star during an interview that early this year, the association requested the government to give an extension of duty waiver on raw materials to make animal feeds. These raw materials include yellow maize, soya beans meals and vitamin premixes.

The request was granted and an extension was allowed through a gazette notice issued on August 11, 2023. The gazette notice allowed an extension of duty waiver until February 2024.

Gathogo said despite the extension of the duty waiver, prices of animal feed are still high and they are yet to stabilise due to the scarcity of maize.

“Maize is still not available in the traditional regional import markets like Zambia and Uganda, while Tanzania is only allowing minimal exports of the commodity. The cost of soya has also shot up in the last two weeks from Sh75 per kilo to Sh100 and it is still going up,” Gathogo said.

He said this may affect the price of animal feed but with a duty waiver, but is hopeful that traders will be able to source their raw materials from different sources and from any part of the world to try to bring prices down.

Currently, a 70 kg bag of dairy meal is selling at Sh3,000, layers at Sh4,500 and growers marsh at Sh3,500 per 70 kg bag.

He said without the interventions, prices are likely to go up by SH500 per bag but we are likely to see prices stabilise.

“Prices are likely to remain as they are but if the dollar comes down from ShH150 to between Sh130 to Sh120, then the benefit will go directly to the farmers. We are hopeful that the dollar will come down to a level that will make the cost of importation cheaper. What is being imported now is expensive due to the dollar,” he said.

Gathogo said there has been a renewed interest with farmers wanting to go back to farming. The past two years has seen many farmers, especially in poultry and dairy farming abandon their venture due to the high cost of animal feeds.

“The market seems to be opening up and farmers are in a wait-and-see period. There is a renewed demand for poultry products of eggs and meat and farmers are trying to go back to poultry farming,” he said.

He particularly pointed out poultry farmers as trying to make a comeback but there is a challenge on the shortage of one-day-old chick.

“Once the hatchers are able to avail one-day-old chicks to the farmers then the poultry sub-sector will be on the way back to life,” said Gathogo.

He added that the daily sub-sector is fairly stable, and with the ban on milk and milk powder, farmers will now have more disposable income.