- Sugar stakeholders raise concerns over gaps in sector regulation
- Millers and farmers call for action on industry challenges
- Parliamentary committee gathers views from sugar-growing regions
Delays in constituting and operationalising the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) directorate have contributed to imported industrial sugar finding its way to retail consumers, stakeholders say.
Gaps in policy governing the importation and use of industrial sugar in Kenya have been cited as a key factor affecting cane pricing and production at local milling factories.
Presenting the milling sector’s views to the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives parliamentary committee led by Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, Butali Sugar Mills Managing Director Sanjay Patel said Butali, like other millers, was being hurt by uncontrolled and unmonitored importation of white sugar (ICUMSA 45) meant for industrial use but which ends up on Kenyan retail shelves, selling cheaper than the common mild brown sugar.
Patel told the committee, which also included farmers’ representatives, that the sugar sector would only be streamlined once the proposed KSB is fully functional, with the stalled regional directors’ elections conducted.
He raised concerns over the many court cases filed over the KSB directorship elections, saying these were stalling the board’s constitution and implementation.
The KSB directorship elections are to be held countrywide across five catchment areas: Upper Western, Lower Western, Southern, Central and Coastal, with each region electing a director to represent cane farmers.
Management disagreed with the committee’s suggestion that parliament appoint KSB director-representatives, noting this was solely the mandate of farmers.
Patel said unmonitored industrial sugar imports were hurting both millers and farmers, as planting, harvesting and per-ton pricing would be affected by the cheaper white sugar on shelves.
“I want to tell this committee that it is not the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) sugar affecting our sector, it is industrial white sugar meant for pharmaceuticals and industrial production that is being diverted by importers to flood the local market. Unless stringent measures are put in place, we will keep blaming each other for the sector’s stagnation,” he said.
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He urged the committee to push for the KSB elections soon to address these unfair practices affecting farmers and millers.
Patel also raised concerns over high cane pricing against sugar prices, saying millers were earning little compared with the infiltrated market, and called for safeguards given how many farmers depend on their services.
“Butali Sugar Millers has between 42,000 and 44,000 farmers, with 700,000 to 800,000 Kenyans depending on it, and offers 2,400 direct jobs, with 36,000 school-going children attached to it. Nationally, sugarcane sustains approximately seven to eight million Kenyans and should be safeguarded against unnecessary exploitation,” he added.
The miller, currently crushing 2,700 tons of sugar daily, asked the government to restrict repacking of sugar into small quantities (250-500 grams and 1kg), saying this also encouraged illegal importation of cheap sugar.
“We are seeing supermarkets selling repackaged sugar bearing their own names, yet they are not millers. Where do they get the sugar? Let repackaging be done at the factory, not by supermarkets. Consumers should be warned that the standard of what they’re buying is unknown and could be hazardous, and it is also harming our supply chain,” he said.
He said proper regulation of the sector would allow many Kenyans to benefit from it.
Patel also urged the government to allow subsidised cane fertiliser to reach farmers directly or through the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC).
“Let the government remit subsidised fertiliser, if available, to millers, who can then distribute it to farmers on better, agreeable terms. The current price of Ksh5,000 is still high for many small-scale farmers to raise,” Patel said.
He also noted that sugar production costs in Kenya were high compared with Uganda, and asked the government to regulate this alongside farm machinery importation.
Butali Sugarcane Farmers Association chairman William Kopi raised concerns over the licensing of new sugar factories, saying the sector already lacked enough raw material to crush.
“We have 15 sugar factories in Kenya, all scrambling for raw materials. Why is the government allowing new ones now? Let us first satisfy existing demand before opening new factories,” he said.
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Kopi also opposed transferring sugar levy (cess) funds to the Kenya Agribusiness Development Corporation (KADCO), saying the funds should instead go back to farmers for infrastructure development in cane-growing zones.
“We want the grassroots cess committee board revived to manage these funds, as they identify which infrastructure needs rehabilitation. Currently, the funds are dumped at the county level and misused, with no proper channel to return them to farmers, so there’s no tangible development at the grassroots,” Kopi said.
Malava MP David Ndakwa, the host, praised the miller for maintaining a 70% local employment threshold, its corporate social responsibility initiatives, and its seven-day payment schedule to farmers for harvested cane.
Trade committee chairman Bernard Shinali confirmed the 15-member team was touring sugar-growing regions to gather views on sensitive sector issues, which would be forwarded to parliament for review.
He assured the miller that strict measures on sugar importation would be enforced, citing the docked Brazilian vessel at the Port of Mombasa alleged to be carrying sugar into the country.
“The government is taking sugar importation matters very seriously since Kenya produces its own sugar, and the remaining deficit, imported as white sugar for industrial use, should come in through the correct channels. Our team is collecting views from stakeholders nationwide, after which we will compile and review them before giving a substantive solution through a parliamentary report,” Shinali said.
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By Wakhungu Andaje
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