Kenya reaffirms sugar import ban as local production meets domestic demand
The Government has reaffirmed its ban on sugar imports and frozen the issuance of new import licences, saying local production is now sufficient to meet domestic demand.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Sen. Mutahi Kagwe said the government would not issue new sugar import licences as it moves to protect local producers and position Kenya to become a sugar-exporting country.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) on its X platform, Kagwe made the announcement during a consultative meeting with sugar farmers, industry stakeholders and officials of the Kenya Sugar Board.
The CS said sugar imports had fallen by more than 71 per cent, from about 210,000 metric tonnes last year to approximately 60,000 metric tonnes this year.
The decline has been partly attributed to the KSh40 per kilogramme excise duty introduced under the Finance Act, 2026, as the government seeks to strengthen the domestic sugar industry and reduce reliance on imported sugar.
Kagwe said the government’s position was informed by improved local production, adding that the current output was adequate to satisfy the country’s domestic requirements.
The announcement comes as preparations intensify for the election of five regional grower directors to the Kenya Sugar Board, with the elections officially scheduled for September 5, 2026.
The election is expected to mark a major step towards fully operationalising the Board under the Sugar Act, 2024. The five grower directors will represent Kenya’s five sugar-growing regions.
Farmer organisations welcomed the announcement of the election date, saying the exercise would complete the constitution of the Kenya Sugar Board and strengthen growers’ representation in the management of the industry.
Tougher rules for new sugar factories
Kagwe also announced tighter licensing requirements for investors seeking to establish new sugar factories, in a move aimed at curbing cane poaching and protecting existing millers and contracted farmers.
Under the proposed requirements, investors will have to demonstrate that they have adequate nucleus estates and sufficient numbers of contracted outgrowers before receiving licences.
The government said the measure would help ensure new factories have reliable sources of sugarcane and reduce competition for cane that has already been contracted by existing millers.
Sugar farmers’ arrears reduced
The CS further disclosed that the government had reduced historical arrears owed to sugar farmers from nearly KSh2 billion to KSh265 million.
He pledged that the government would work with the National Treasury to clear the outstanding balance, while directing immediate action to address delayed payments by millers.
The government’s position on imports and farmer payments comes amid wider efforts to reform the sugar sector and improve the financial sustainability of the industry.
Stakeholders, however, called for the release of the infrastructure component of the Sugar Development Levy and the write-off of more than KSh48 billion owed by former outgrower institutions.
Farmers also called for stability in cane prices, with growers expressing support for retaining the current KSh5,500 per tonne price while noting that the previous rate had stood at KSh5,750 per tonne.
Government targets a competitive sugar industry
Kagwe reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and continued reforms designed to create a more competitive, profitable and farmer-centred sugar industry.
The CS also announced that a substantive chief executive officer for the Kenya Sugar Research and Training Institute (KESRETI) would be appointed by the end of the week.
The government’s decision to maintain the sugar import ban, alongside the planned Kenya Sugar Board elections and tighter factory licensing rules, is expected to shape the next phase of reforms in an industry that remains central to the livelihoods of thousands of Kenyan farmers.
With local production now reported to be sufficient for domestic consumption, the government is seeking to shift the sector from dependence on imports towards greater domestic production and, ultimately, sugar exports.