The price of wheat jumped on international markets after India banned the export of the staple cereal saying it has stopped the exports of its wheat to the world market to protect its local stocks.
As a result, the benchmark wheat index rose as much as 5.9 per cent in Chicago, the highest it has been in two months. The export ban comes after a heatwave hit India’s wheat crops, taking domestic prices to a record high.
Consequently, Kenyan households have felt the pressure with the two-kilogramme pack breaching the Ksh 200 mark for the first time in four years.
Kenya relies on global wheat supply to meet the local demand, importing up to 75 per cent of the grain from the world market.
On the shelves, the price of Ajab wheat flour has gone up from Ksh 168 last month to Ksh 202, currently, Dola is now retailing at Ksh 194 from Ksh 160 while Ndovu is going for Ksh 190 from Ksh 165 with millers anticipating that the prices will rise further in the coming days.
India is the world’s second-biggest producer of the staple cereal after China and had filled a gap in markets left by decreased output from Ukraine.
The ban comes at a time when a Kenyan delegation was to travel to India to undertake a risk analysis of the crop after the country banned the imports from this Asian state over a fungal disease.