Kenya
Kenya - 2.7 Milling Assessment
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​​​Milling capacity in Kenya is well developed with a total milling capacity estimated at 3,500 Mt/24 hours. Most millers are organised into associations. Large scale millers are under the umbrella of The Cereal Millers Association (CMA) that accounts for 40%. There are also Micros Small and Medium Scale millers that are members of different associations under the umbrella of Grain Mill Owners Association (GMOA). ​​ 

​​​CMA was established in the year 2000 and officially registered in 2007. The Association has a membership of more than 35 large grain milling companies. CMA represents about 40% of total grain milling capacity for maize in Kenya and over 80% of the wheat milling capacity. All Millers are spread throughout the country with high concentration in Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Thika and Eldoret. ​​ 

​​​Millers Association ​​were​​ formed with the objective of lobbying on policy issues, enhance collaborations between different millers  in order to enhance cohesiveness and identify solutions for the challenges facing the milling industry , strengthen partnerships and collaborations with the government, development partners and other stakeholders to drive the flour milling business to the next level, strengthen self-regulation among SMSMs in Kenya,  seek support from partners and members to find lasting solutions for the problems facing millers  and be a forum for advocacy.​​ 

​​​Other key issues include import duties, ​​cyclical​​; maize shortages, food safety and fortification and pool resources to address affecting millers, resource limitation and capacity.​​ 

An assessment was done by the World Food Programme between February and July 2023. The objective of the assessment was to determine the capacity of local wheat millers. Several mills were sampled, and two mills met the defined criteria. The criteria included: ​​ 

  1. ​​​Unga Holdings Limited (Est. 1956)​ 

​​​Unga Group Ltd is the largest and oldest grain miller in Kenya which commenced business in the early 1900’s and they are the only miller currently listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange​.​ 

​​​The Unga Group has extensive holdings that include wheat and maize milling, animal feeds production and commercial porridge production​​ 

 ​​Unga currently operate six mills, five in Kenya and one in Uganda​​ ​​ 

 

​​​Company Name & Address 

Contact Names & Email 

Telephone & Fax 

Unga Holdings Ltd. 

5th Floor, Ngano House, Commercial Street, P.O. Box 30096, Nairobi, Kenya 

image-20240102151133-1image-20240102151133-2 

Name: John Wambua 

Title: Group Finance director 

Email:  jwambua@unga.com 

 

Tel: 254 020 652 471 / +254 733 255 575 

 

 

 

Unga Eldoret Mills Ltd 

Address: 5th Floor, Ngano House, Commercial Street, P.O. Box 30096, Nairobi, Kenya 

 

 

Name: Dale West 

Title: Manager 

Email: dwiest@unga.com 

 

 

Tel: +254 020 556 257 Cell: +254 733 618 344 

 

                                   

 

Unga currently operate six mills, five in Kenya and one in Uganda  

Facilities 

Parking area inside compound m² 

​​​2000​​ 

Drainage 

(Good / Fair / Poor / Non-Existent) 

good 

​​​Fire Fighting Equipment (Yes / No)​​ 

yes 

Number of Ventilators 

Screened 

​​​Electricity Load (KVA)​​ 

​​​1215​​ 

​​​Backup Generator ​​ 

​​​(Yes / No / KVA)​​ 

​​​yes​​ 

1200 

KVA 

 

  

Milling Equipment 

Origin of Machinery 

Year of Mfg. 

Year of Installation 

Condition 

Buhler, Switzerland 

1986 

1987 

Good 

 

 

 Maintenance 

Duration (hours / week) 

8hrs/week 

Type of maintenance 

Preventive 

  

Other Equipment or Machinery Installed 

Yes/No 

Number 

Owned 

Comments 

Yes 

Yes 

 

Yes 

Yes 

 

Yes 

yes 

Own laboratory 

N/A 

 

 

 

N/A 

 

 

 

  

Staffing 

Number of full-time skilled workers 

33 

Number of full-time labourers 

40 

 

Weighbridge 

 

 

Capacity (mt) 

Length (m) 

Type 

Within Compound 

100 

18 

Electric 

 

Building 

 

Length (m) 

Width (m) 

Height (m) 

Building – Wheat Mill 

27 

10 

22 

Building – Maize Mill 

27 

22 

Walls 

Concrete 

Roof 

Iron sheet 

Floor 

Concrete 

 

 

Pest Control 

Fumigation 

Yes   

Frequency 

quarterly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

Yes 

Spraying  

Yes 

Frequency 

quarterly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

Rodenticides  

yes 

Frequency 

monthly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

Rodent Trapping 

yes 

Frequency 

monthly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

 

 

Conditions & Cleanliness 

   

Outside 

Inside 

Cracks in walls or roof (Yes / No) 

no 

no 

Signs of rodent activity (Yes / No) 

no 

no 

Signs of birds’ entry (Yes / No) 

no 

no 

Damaged gutters/drains (Yes / No) 

no 

no 

Signs of moisture (Yes / No) 

no 

no 

Adjacent Vegetation (Yes / No) 

no 

no 

Cleanliness (Good / Poor) 

Good 

Good 

 

Security  

Security 

(Good / Poor) 

good 

Compound 

(Fenced / Not Fenced) 

Fenced 

Other Comments 

 

  

 

 

Access 

Distance from main town (km) 

1Km 

Travel time if not located in town (hours) 

 

Road condition to Mill 

Average 

Road limitation (if any) 

Maximum Width and Max. Tonnage 

10mt/28ton 

Rail connections 

(Yes / No) 

 

Yes 

On the railway from 

Nairobi 

to 

Eldoret 

Other Comments 

  

 

 

Milling Capacity (Mt) 

Commodities 

Daily Capacity (MT) 

Monthly Activity (MT) 

Wheat 

220mt 

+6000mt 

Maize 

180mt 

+5000mt 

  

Storage Capacity 

Storage in Metric Tonnes 

Wheat – Covered (MT) 

Flour – Covered (MT) 

Within the Compound 

2000mt 

5,500 

Outside the Compound 

4000mt 

4,000 

  

Capacity to Blend 

 YES  

  

Transport Capacity at Mill 

10 to 15 trucks 

  

  1. Nairobi Flours mills Limited. 

Company Name & Address 

Contact Names & Email 

Telephone & Fax 

Homa Bay Road, P.O. Box 46395, Nairobi, Kenya 

Name: R.J Shah or P.R Shah 

Title: Directors 

Email: jimbi@wananchi.com 

Web: 

Tel: +254 020 559 712 / 556 608 / 559 390 

Fax: +254 020 536 663 / 536 664 / 536 665  

Summary of Role and Services: “historic” facility in Kenya. Provides big part of the locally produced commercial flours in the country. 

 

 Facilities 

Parking area inside compound m² 

200 

Drainage 

(Good / Fair / Poor / Non-Existent) 

fair 

Fire Fighting Equipment (Yes / No) 

yes 

Number of Ventilators 

Screened 

Electricity Load (KVA) 

300 

 

 Backup Generator  

(Yes / No / KVA) 

yes 

380 

KVA 

  

Milling Equipment 

Origin of Machinery 

Year of Mfg. 

Year of Installation 

Condition 

Maize Mill (Germany) 

1970 

1971 

Fair 

Maize Mill (Germany) 

1975 

1976 

Fair 

  

Maintenance 

Duration (hours / week) 

8hrs/week 

Type of maintenance 

Preventive 

  

Other Equipment or Machinery Installed 

Type of Equipment 

Yes/No 

Number 

Owned 

Comments 

Fortification Feeder 

Yes 

Yes 

 

Bag Cleaning Plant 

No 

 

 

 

Moisture Tester 

yes 

Yes 

 

De-stoning Plant 

N/A 

 

 

 

Metal Extractor 

N/A 

 

 

 

  

Staffing 

Number of full-time skilled workers 

20 

Number of full-time labourers 

60 

  

 

Weighbridge 

Number  

Capacity (MT) 

Length (m) 

Type 

Within Compound 

30mt 

electric 

  

Building 

 

Length (m) 

Width (m) 

Height (m) 

Building – Wheat Mill 

60 

50 

25 

Building – Maize Mill 

 

 

 

Walls 

Concrete 

Roof 

Iron sheet 

Floor 

concrete 

  

 

Conditions & Cleanliness 

   

Outside 

Inside 

Cracks in walls or roof (Yes / No) 

No 

No 

Signs of rodent activity (Yes / No) 

No 

No 

Signs of bird’s entry (Yes / No) 

No 

No 

Damaged gutters/drains (Yes / No) 

No 

No 

Signs of moisture (Yes / No) 

No 

No 

Adjacent Vegetation (Yes / No) 

No 

No 

Cleanliness (Good / Port) 

Good 

Good 

  

Pest Control 

Fumigation 

Yes   

Frequency 

quarterly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

Yes 

Spraying  

Yes 

Frequency 

quarterly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

Rodenticides  

yes 

Frequency 

monthly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

Rodent Trapping 

yes 

Frequency 

monthly 

Contracted 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

  

Security  

Security 

(Good / Poor) 

Poor 

Compound 

(Fenced / Not Fenced) 

Not fenced 

Other Comments 

 

  

Access 

Distance from main town (km) 

N/A 

Travel time if not located in town (hours) 

N/A 

Road condition to Mill 

good 

Road limitation (if any) 

Maximum Width and Max. Tonnage 

10m / 28mt 

Rail connections 

(Yes / No) 

yes 

On the railway from 

Nairobi 

to 

Mombasa 

Other Comments 

  

Milling Capacity (Mt) 

Commodities 

Daily Capacity (MT) 

Monthly Activity (MT) 

Wheat 

45Mt 

1,350Mt 

Maize 

120Mt 

3,600Mt 

 

 

 Storage Capacity 

Storage in Metric Tonnes 

Wheat – Covered (MT) 

Flour – Covered (MT) 

Within the Compound 

3,000mt 

3,000 MT 

Outside the Compound 

As required 

As required 

Capacity to Blend 

         NO 

  

Transport Capacity at Mill 

   15 trucks 

  

Additional Notes 

Bagging capacity for all decider formats up to 90kg 

 

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