New report warns of a looming sugar shortage in Kenya
Workers arrange bags of sugar at Mumias Sugar Company store in Western Kenya on September 28, 2018. Kenya’s sugar industry faces a critical decision as Comesa’s two-decade-old protection measures near expiry.
The United States Department of Agriculture warns of a looming sugar shortage in Kenya blamed on shrinking farms and declining processing, opening a window for increased imports that will stabilise retail prices.
The agency, through its Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) division, says the country faces a 19.8 percent drop in sugar production to 650,000 metric tonnes in the 2025/2026 marketing year (MY), from 810,000 metric tonnes in the 2024/2025 marketing year.
