Kenya to Import 200,000 Tons of U.S. Wheat Through June, Ambassador Says

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20 Nov 2010

The U.S. projects that it will export about 200,000 metric tons of wheat to Kenya over the next seven months, after the East African nation this week accepted its largest-ever shipment of the American grain. Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Commodities Ltd. handled the import of the 50,000 tons of wheat that began being offloaded yesterday at Mombasa, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger told reporters as the shipment arrived at the port. A copy of his remarks was sent by e-mail today by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
“Apart from this very impressive single shipment, we understand that 200,000 tons or more of high-quality U.S. wheat will be imported into Kenya during the marketing year on strictly commercial terms,” Ranneberger said, referring to the year through June 2011. “This will likely be a record year for U.S. wheat exports into the East African market.”
To meet domestic requirements, the country imports about 120,000 metric tons of grains a month, which represents about 30 percent of its monthly cereal consumption, Standard Bank Group Ltd. said in February.
Kenya will review a cut in duties on imported wheat following protests by domestic growers, the presidency said on June 29. Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta announced in his annual budget speech on June 10 that the levy would be reduced to 10 percent from 25 percent.

Source: Bloomberg