Nairobi — Kenya’s reserves of maize dropped to less than a day’s worth of consumption after stocks of the staple grain were released to millers, the National Cereals and Produce Board said. The reserve currently stands at 50,000 90kg bags, equivalent to 4,500 tonnes, the board’s MD, Newton Terer, said by phone on Tuesday in Nairobi. The board released about 36,000 tonnes to millers last week, he said. The board is awaiting information from the agriculture ministry about how the reserve will be restocked, Terer said, declining to comment further. On Tuesday, agriculture secretary Willy Bett cancelled a second briefing in as many days that had been scheduled to discuss food security in the East African nation. Kenya had insufficient rain in crop-growing areas in March and April, the Kenya Meteorological Department said on Monday in a preliminary assessment of the March-May so-called long rains. Most weather stations reported receiving less than 75% of their seasonal long-term average,...
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