Kenya’s Sugar Pricing Committee Cuts Cane Prices By 14 Percent

Kenya’s Sugar Pricing Committee has implemented a 14 percent reduction in the price of sugarcane, responding to a concurrent decrease in the cost of the commodity on the retail market.

In the most recent review, the committee, mandated with periodically assessing sugarcane prices, revised the cost from Ksh5,900 per tonne in March to Ksh5,100, marking one of the sharpest cuts in recent months.

“The second Interim Sugar Pricing Committee held a meeting on Thursday April 4, 2024 in Kisumu. During the meeting to review sugarcane price, the committee resolved that the new sugarcane price will be Ksh5,100 effective Monday April 8,2024,” said the Head of Sugar Directorate Jude Chesire in a letter to stakeholders.

Agriculture and Food Authority cited a notable decline in retail sugar prices as the driving factor behind this adjustment.

“The sugar prices have gone down further that is why, and this is attributed to increased production,” said Mr Chesire.

Presently, a two-kilogramme sugar packet is available at Ksh390, down from Ksh450 in August of the previous year.

However, data from Kenya’s statistics agency-KNBS, indicates the price of sugar was up by 21 percent in March.

To determine the sugarcane cost, the committee considers prevailing sugar prices and ex-factory rates, aiming for equitable returns to both growers and millers.

The committee comprises representatives from various entities, including AFA, the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers, millers, and sugar-producing counties.

The government had last year put measures in place to tame the rising cost of the sweetener in the market. The intervention included boosting imports to enhance local supply and improving the efficiency of domestic millers.

The decline in price of commodity is also attributed to increased local sugar production after it permitted sugar factories to fully resume operations last December.

In July last year, the regulatory body imposed a four-month ban on cane milling to allow the crop in the fields to mature before resuming production.

This decision coincided with India, a major global sugar producer, imposing export restrictions to safeguard its local stocks amid a worldwide shortage that escalated sugar prices.