Nairobi — A ship carrying bulk white maize is expected to dock at the Port of Mombasa, coming at a time when prices of the commodity are at their highest.

The cargo will be arriving in the coastal town of Kenya from Matola Port in Mozambique today.

Kenya is currently facing high prices for basic food items such as maize flour, which is a staple food in the country.

High prices are attributed to higher demand for the commodities despite maize supply being scarce.

A shortage of maize is due to a prolonged drought that has impacted corn production regions in the country.

A two-kilo packet of maize flour now retails for around Sh190 and Sh200, up from a low of about Sh100 previously.

Arrival of the commodity, however, will boost the supply chain, helping reduce the price of the commodity.

Another shipment of bulk wheat will be arriving at the port.

Only last month, the country received 30,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to help families affected by drought and famine.

The donation is part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 'Grain from Ukraine' (GfU) humanitarian programme.

The shipment was supported by the UN World Food Program (WFP) with financial assistance from the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said that over 5.4 million people in Kenya will likely experience acute food insecurity between March and June this year.

About 970,200 children will likely suffer from acute malnutrition in 2023.