The EAC maize context is partially disconnected from global trends. This stems from maize’s status as a staple food crop in East Africa, where it accounts for nearly half of the calories and protein consumed.
While maize is not as significant a component of the Ugandan diet—a cash crop instead of a food crop—the country enjoys resource advantages in upstream segments of the chain, allowing it to become a prominent regional producer and exporter of maize to Kenya and other markets. In addition to Kenyan demand and Ugandan supply, a second significant characteristic that shapes the EAC maize market is the prominence of maize flour exports. Kenya specializes more in milling the imported maize and exporting the same to other countries. The differences in the trading profiles between Uganda and Kenya hint at contrasts in the organization and the structure of their value chains. While “formal” aggregators, including mills and large traders, compete with “informal” traders in the sourcing of raw material in both countries, Uganda’s industry has a higher number of larger-scale actors.
At KELS Limited we bridge the gap creating linkages to investors in both Kenya and Uganda. We further establish linkages between aggregators in Uganda and millers in Kenya.