This archive report was first published on 23 April 2020.
Illegal sugar imports have left sugarcane millers and farmers in the Western belt reeling, with the region being turned into a dumping market for cheap sugar from neighboring countries, especially Uganda.
According to the stakeholders, the importation of sugar into the country started before the customs window was opened, and it is unfortunate that those importing sugar want to kill the local industries.
Nzoia Sugar Company chairman Joash Wamang'oli said, 'It is unfortunate that those importing sugar want to kill the local industries. At this rate, we will not have money to pay our farmers.'
Wamang'oli urged the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA) to protect local farmers and millers from the adverse effects of the unlicensed cheap imports.
He regretted that cartels have taken advantage of the porous border to flood the country with illegal sugar imports, and called upon AFFA to urgently move in to protect their farmers.
Meanwhile, farmers from Nzoia, Butali, and West Kenya sugar growing zones have incurred huge losses due to the illegal trade, with the sugar imports being seen in Bungoma, Mukenya, Masbrago, New Adatia, Kiminini, Kitale, Charangani, and Jaralam.
Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati, a member of the Sugar taskforce, warned that opening the sugar importation window could cause prices of the commodity to fall to unprecedented levels, and urged Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya to intervene and cushion farmers from incurring losses.
Kenya National Alliance of Sugarcane Farmers Chairman Saulo Busolo also urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to consider giving a stimulus package to the industry to boost production.
