Kenya Rice Production Fell 29% in Eight Months Through August

By George Mwangi

Special to Dow Jones Newswires

NAIROBI--Kenya's rice production fell 29% in the first eight months of the year due to floods, the governor of the country's central bank, Kamau Thugge, said Wednesday.

Production fell to 1.5 million 90-kilogram bags in the January through August period, down from 2.1 million bags in the prior-year period, Thugge said during a virtual media briefing.

Kenya's rice production is expected to rise by 37% to 130,000 metric tons in the current marketing year beginning October from the prior-year estimate, according to the U.S Agriculture Department recent annual Kenya grain and feed report. The rise is largely attributed to the expansion of planted area following the commissioning of the Thiba Dam in October 2022.

Kenya's rice-import forecast has been lowered by 8.3% in 2023 following India banning export of its rice, the USDA said in its recent "Grain: World Markets and Trade" report.

Imports are now expected to be 1.1 million metric tons, down from 1.2 million tons forecasted in July, it said.

Kenya imports rice mainly from Pakistan, India, Tanzania, South Korea, and Thailand, the USDA said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-04-23 0814ET