Flour Packaging Row Deepens and Kenyans Could Soon Pay More for Ugali

By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter

Kenya, May 28, 2026 - Kenyans may soon dig deeper into their pockets for a packet of unga after millers warned that new packaging requirements could significantly increase the cost of maize and wheat flour, further worsening the country’s already painful cost of living crisis.

The Cereal Millers Association (CMA) has moved to court challenging the government’s insistence on the use of expensive kraft paper packaging instead of plastic packaging materials previously used in the grain milling sector.

The case pits the millers against the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Treasury CS John Mbadi, Environment CS Deborah Barasa and Attorney General Dorcas Oduor.

At the center of the dispute is the government’s push to eliminate plastic packaging in the flour industry and transition millers to kraft paper packaging, a move millers say is economically unsustainable and will inevitably hurt ordinary consumers.

In court filings, the millers warned that the additional packaging costs will directly affect flour prices because manufacturers will eventually transfer the burden to consumers.

“Unless this court intervenes on an urgent basis, the increased cost of packaging materials will inevitably be passed on to consumers, leading to a significant rise in the price of flour and other staple food products, thereby exacerbating the cost of living and undermining the constitutional right to accessible and adequate food under Article 43,” argued the millers’ lawyer Caxston Kigata.

The association says trouble began after NEMA blocked the use of polypropylene packaging materials, despite earlier agreements allowing controlled use and recycling frameworks within the industry.

According to CMA officials, millers had already heavily invested in plastic packaging systems after earlier consultations with regulators and manufacturers.

“However, NEMA later introduced a total ban on plastic packaging,” CMA Operations Officer Stephen Ogolla stated.

The millers argue that the shift to kraft paper packaging is particularly expensive because the material itself attracts heavy taxation.

Kigata told the court that kraft paper currently carries a tax burden of about 35 percent, making it one of the most expensive components in flour production after the grain itself.

Ogolla further warned that if those costs are transferred downstream, consumers should expect flour prices to rise significantly.

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“According to him, the kraft paper will be the second most expensive commodity in flour production, after grains,” Ogolla elaborated.

The warning comes at a particularly sensitive time for Kenyan households already struggling with rising food and fuel prices.

In recent months, fuel prices have surged sharply following global oil market disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East and increased global freight costs.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) recently raised pump prices significantly, with diesel recording one of the sharpest increases.

And in Kenya, fuel prices rarely affect transport alone.

And the ripple effect is already being felt across basic household commodities.

Recent economic data has shown increasing prices for beef, matumbo, vegetables and other common foods relied on by ordinary Kenyans.

Now, with ugali potentially becoming more expensive due to packaging costs, many families fear the country’s most basic meal may slowly become unaffordable for low-income households.

And that is what makes this debate larger than packaging alone. Ugali is not just food in Kenya. It is survival. It is the cheapest meal many households rely on daily.

It is what keeps millions of homes going when incomes shrink and economic pressure rises.

So when millers warn that the cost of unga could rise again, many Kenyans are hearing something far more serious: That even the country’s most basic plate is no longer safe from the pressure of taxes, regulation and a struggling economy.