This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
As of July 4, 2019, Kenya's sugar imports had seen a significant surge, with a 112 percent increase in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2018.
According to the Sugar Directorate, the country imported 172,213 tonnes of sugar between January and May 2019, up from 80,596 tonnes in the same period the previous year.
The increase in imports is attributed to a decline in local sugar production, which dropped by seven percent in the review period due to poor performance by major factories such as Nzoia, Chemelil, and Sony.
As a result, the ex-factory sugar price has seen a significant increase, closing at Sh4,632 at the end of May from a low of Sh3,868 at the beginning of the year.
Consumer prices have also started to rise, with most brands increasing their prices from a low of Sh205 for a two-kilo packet in the last two months to Sh230 in different retail outlets.
