Can GM maize be shipped to Kenya?

Not on the current position. The Cabinet lifted the GM ban in October 2022 and the High Court dismissed the petitions against that in November 2024, but a Kisumu High Court order of 14 March 2025 restrains approvals for GM maize, the case was still in hearing in June 2026, and the National Biosafety Authority's July 2026 circular requires its clearance for every GMO import against a list on which GM maize does not appear. Every 2025 and 2026 duty-waiver notice has been written as non-GM. A South African, Argentine or Black Sea cargo therefore ships as identity-preserved non-GM maize with a PCR certificate, and the desk confirms the position with the NBA and KEPHIS per cargo before offering.

Bulk or bagged into Mombasa?

Bulk for anyone with silo access. Grain Bulk Handlers runs two terminals with 414,300 t of capacity, 140,500 t of silos and discharge at up to 1,800 t/h, and Panamax parcels of 42,000 to 48,000 t have discharged there in waiver years. Millers and feed mills without a silo allocation take 50 kg bags in containers or on Handysize tonnage, at a higher landed cost. Zambian, Tanzanian and Ugandan maize moves by road and rail and is priced delivered mill.

What quality does Kenya require?

KS EAS 2:2017 for maize grains: total aflatoxin 10 µg/kg maximum and aflatoxin B1 5 µg/kg, tested to ISO 16050, with moisture, broken, discoloured and pest-damaged kernel limits by grade. KEBS issues a certificate of conformity under its PVoC programme at origin, KEPHIS issues the import permit and checks the phytosanitary certificate, and the cargo is sampled by SGS, Intertek or Bureau Veritas at load. A cargo that fails aflatoxin at Mombasa is not re-graded; it is refused.

Does CBIL deal with the NCPB or government tenders?

No. The National Cereals and Produce Board holds and distributes government stocks and is preparing storage for the 2026 imports, which is a fact about the market. CBIL works for millers, feed manufacturers and importers buying for their own account, under whatever duty window applies to them.

East Africa · Kenya

Maize CFR Mombasa, Kenya: White and Yellow Maize for Millers and Feed Mills

A structural importer in a seven-year-low crop year, buying non-GM white maize for flour and yellow maize for feed

Kenya's maize imports rose 51.4% to 468,109 t in 2025, worth KSh 13.17 billion, on a duty-free window for yellow maize for feed, while domestic production edged up 2.2% to 45.8 million 90 kg bags. The 2026 season is worse: production is the lowest in seven years, the Cereal Millers Association has asked the government to gazette 3 million tonnes of white maize duty-free for nine months, the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary said on 8-9 September 2026 that the government intends to gazette 360,000 t of duty-free yellow maize for animal feed, and neither notice had been published at that date. One estimate puts the 2026-27 deficit at about 2 million tonnes of a 4 million tonne requirement. The origins split by land and sea. Tanzania and Uganda are EAC members and their maize enters duty-free by road, subject to Tanzanian export permits that have cut flows before; Zambia's record 5.1 million tonne 2025-26 harvest has produced a 540,000 t Food Reserve Agency contract with a Kenyan buyer for Grade A white non-GM maize in six batches over 18 months, signed 9 September 2026. By sea, Kenya declared 504,695 t of imports in 2023: Tanzania 219,260 t, South Africa 155,449 t, Ukraine 44,257 t, Türkiye 25,000 t, Zambia 13,621 t and Uganda 10,498 t, and Panamax-size parcels of 42,000 to 48,000 t of white and yellow maize have discharged at Mombasa in waiver years. Two rules decide what can load. Maize from outside the EAC pays the 50% common external tariff unless a gazetted waiver names the tonnage, the period and the eligible millers or feed makers; the 2025 yellow-maize window covered 5.5 million bags for certified feed millers and was written as non-GM. And genetically modified maize is not cleared for import: the Cabinet lifted the GM ban in 2022 and the High Court dismissed petitions against that in November 2024, but a Kisumu High Court order of 14 March 2025 restrains approvals for GM maize, the case was still being heard in June 2026, and on 16 July 2026 the National Biosafety Authority told KRA, KEPHIS, KPA and KEBS that every GMO import needs its clearance and published an approved-product list on which GM maize does not appear. South Africa's record 17.4 million tonne crop is about 85% GM, so only identity-preserved non-GM South African maize with a PCR certificate is a Kenyan cargo, and Argentine and Black Sea yellow maize is bought the same way. The GM position is confirmed with the NBA and KEPHIS per cargo before an offer goes out.

CBIL brokers white maize for millers and yellow maize for feed manufacturers CFR Mombasa in Handysize to Panamax bulk parcels into Grain Bulk Handlers, whose two terminals hold 414,300 t including a 258,500 t grain terminal with 140,500 t of silos and discharge at up to 1,800 t/h, and in 50 kg bags in containers or on smaller tonnage for receivers without silo access; overland Zambian, Tanzanian and Ugandan maize is brokered on a delivered-Nairobi or delivered-mill basis. Every cargo is sold against KS EAS 2:2017, which caps total aflatoxin at 10 µg/kg and aflatoxin B1 at 5 µg/kg, with moisture, broken and discoloured kernels certified by SGS, Intertek or Bureau Veritas at load, a KEPHIS import permit and the origin phytosanitary certificate, a non-GM PCR certificate where the origin grows GM maize, and a KEBS certificate of conformity under the PVoC programme issued before sailing. The buyers are the millers who hold or expect an allocation under a gazetted window, the feed manufacturers grouped in AKEFEMA, and the importers who supply both; the National Cereals and Produce Board's role in receiving and storing government stocks is a market fact, not a channel CBIL works. A requirement that names the miller or feed mill, white or yellow, the tonnage and delivery month, the discharge terminal or inland delivery point and the duty status of the lot gets a priced offer from a named origin; one without them gets a question first.

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The market in figures

Kenya maize imports, 2025: 468,109 t (+51.4%), KSh 13.17 billion · 2025 production 45.8 million 90 kg bags (+2.2%)
2026 position: Lowest crop in seven years · 3 million t white maize duty-free window requested for nine months · 360,000 t yellow maize duty-free for feed to be gazetted (8–9 Sep 2026, not yet published)
Origins, 2023 declared imports: 504,695 t: Tanzania 219,260 t · South Africa 155,449 t · Ukraine 44,257 t · Türkiye 25,000 t · Zambia 13,621 t · Uganda 10,498 t
Rules: Non-EAC maize 50% CET unless gazetted waiver · GM maize not cleared for import (NBA list, 16 Jul 2026; Kisumu order 14 Mar 2025) · KS EAS 2:2017 aflatoxin 10 µg/kg total, 5 µg/kg B1
Discharge: Grain Bulk Handlers, Mombasa: 414,300 t across two terminals, 258,500 t grain terminal, 140,500 t silos, up to 1,800 t/h · bagged 50 kg on smaller tonnage and containers

Official trade data; sources listed below. Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

Can GM maize be shipped to Kenya?: Not on the current position. The Cabinet lifted the GM ban in October 2022 and the High Court dismissed the petitions against that in November 2024, but a Kisumu High Court order of 14 March 2025 restrains approvals for GM maize, the case was still in hearing in June 2026, and the National Biosafety Authority's July 2026 circular requires its clearance for every GMO import against a list on which GM maize does not appear. Every 2025 and 2026 duty-waiver notice has been written as non-GM. A South African, Argentine or Black Sea cargo therefore ships as identity-preserved non-GM maize with a PCR certificate, and the desk confirms the position with the NBA and KEPHIS per cargo before offering.
What duty applies?: Maize is an EAC sensitive item at a 50% common external tariff for origins outside the community. Tanzanian and Ugandan maize enters duty-free as EAC origin. Non-EAC maize enters duty-free only under a gazetted window that names the tonnage, the period and the eligible millers or feed manufacturers, as the 2023 white-maize window and the 2025 yellow-maize window did. A buyer without an allocation under the window is buying at the full rate, so the duty status of the lot is the first question in any enquiry.
Bulk or bagged into Mombasa?: Bulk for anyone with silo access. Grain Bulk Handlers runs two terminals with 414,300 t of capacity, 140,500 t of silos and discharge at up to 1,800 t/h, and Panamax parcels of 42,000 to 48,000 t have discharged there in waiver years. Millers and feed mills without a silo allocation take 50 kg bags in containers or on Handysize tonnage, at a higher landed cost. Zambian, Tanzanian and Ugandan maize moves by road and rail and is priced delivered mill.
What quality does Kenya require?: KS EAS 2:2017 for maize grains: total aflatoxin 10 µg/kg maximum and aflatoxin B1 5 µg/kg, tested to ISO 16050, with moisture, broken, discoloured and pest-damaged kernel limits by grade. KEBS issues a certificate of conformity under its PVoC programme at origin, KEPHIS issues the import permit and checks the phytosanitary certificate, and the cargo is sampled by SGS, Intertek or Bureau Veritas at load. A cargo that fails aflatoxin at Mombasa is not re-graded; it is refused.
Does CBIL deal with the NCPB or government tenders?: No. The National Cereals and Produce Board holds and distributes government stocks and is preparing storage for the 2026 imports, which is a fact about the market. CBIL works for millers, feed manufacturers and importers buying for their own account, under whatever duty window applies to them.

Sources

Business Daily, 'Maize imports jump 51pc after duty-free yellow grain window', 6 May 2026, citing the KNBS Economic Survey 2026: imports 468,109 t in 2025 (+51.4%), KSh 13.17 billion (+30.6%); production 45.8 million bags (+2.2%); standard 50% import duty on non-EAC maize removed for 5.5 million bags of non-GM yellow maize for feed.
Milling MEA, 'Kenya considers duty-free import of 3MMT of maize amid low harvest', 9 Sep 2026, and Ghana News Agency, Sep 2026: production lowest in seven years; CMA request for 3 million t white maize duty-free for nine months; government to gazette 360,000 t yellow maize for feed; Zambia and Tanzania named as sources; NCPB preparing facilities for about 2 million 90 kg bags; not gazetted at article date.
The Herald (South Africa), Wandile Sihlobo, 15 Sep 2026: Kenya needs about 2 million t of a 4 million t requirement for 2026-27; South Africa's 17.4 million t record crop about 85% GM; Kenya's GM maize import restriction; Zambia surplus of nearly 2 million t non-GM. Sihlobo, 28 Sep 2025: 2024-25 harvest 4.4 million t (USDA), Tanzania and Uganda the main suppliers.
Kenyans.co.ke and Lusaka Times, 9-10 Sep 2026: Zambia Food Reserve Agency contract with a Kenyan buyer for 540,000 t of Grade A white non-GM maize, five batches of 100,000 t quarterly and a final 40,000 t; Zambia 2025-26 harvest above 5.1 million t.
UN Comtrade via World Bank WITS, reporter Kenya, HS 1005, imports 2023 (read 30 Sep 2026): world 504,695 t, USD 163.9 million; Tanzania 219,260 t; South Africa 155,449 t; Ukraine 44,257 t; Türkiye 25,000 t; Zambia 13,621 t; Uganda 10,498 t; Ethiopia 1,320 t; Argentina 391 t. UN Comtrade public preview API returned no rows for reporter 404 on 30 Sep 2026 (quota).
The Africa Report, 2023, 'Kenya: slow importation of duty-free maize': 900,000 t white maize window Feb-Aug 2023 for origins outside the EAC and COMESA; a 48,000 t ship from South Africa and Ukraine at Mombasa in April. The Standard, 10 Jun 2022: 2021-22 yellow maize window, 341,950 t across 26 approved millers, non-GM requirement set at 99.1%. Feed Business MEA, 11 Apr 2025: 5.5 million bags of non-GM yellow maize for certified feed millers over one year.
GM position: Down To Earth, 12 Nov 2024 (High Court dismisses petitions against the 2022 lifting of the GM ban); Milling MEA, Mar 2025 (Kisumu High Court interim order of 14 Mar 2025 restraining NBA and KEPHIS approvals for GM maize); Eastleigh Voice and Milling MEA, Jun 2026 (hearing continued 2-3 Jun 2026); KBC, 16 Jul 2026 ('NBA releases GMO product list, orders port agencies to enforce clearance rules': all GMO imports need NBA clearance; GM maize approved for cultivation elsewhere, not on Kenya's list). Confirmed per cargo.
USDA GAIN, 'Government of Kenya exempts duties for conventional animal feed ingredients', 23 Dec 2021, and PMC review PMC7797628: KS EAS 2:2017 maize grains, total aflatoxin 10 µg/kg and B1 5 µg/kg, tested per ISO 16050; KEBS PVoC certificate of conformity (kebs.org).
Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd, grainbulk.com facilities and summary profile (search summaries, 30 Sep 2026): two dry-bulk terminals totalling 414,300 t; 258,500 t grain terminal; 140,500 t silos and 120,000 t bagged warehousing; discharge up to 1,800 t/h and over 20,000 t/day.
Milling MEA and The Citizen on Tanzanian export permits: imports from Tanzania fell 41.8% to 412,755 t in MY 2022-23 under permit requirements; Tanzania offering 30,000 t initially and up to 500,000 t in 2026 (reported, not confirmed).