Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has reaffirmed the government’s ban on sugar imports, directing the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) to stop issuing new import licences, saying the country currently has enough locally produced sugar to meet demand.
Speaking during a high-level consultative meeting at Kilimo House attended by farmers, industry stakeholders and KSB officials, Kagwe said the government is committed to protecting local sugar producers from unfair competition caused by imported sugar.
He noted that the current domestic sugar supply is sufficient and warned that allowing further imports could destabilise the local market.
“We have instructed the Kenya Sugar Board to stop sugar imports. From now on, no new sugar import licences should be issued. For the first time, our local production is enough to meet demand, and we will not undermine the industry by allowing unnecessary imports,” Kagwe said.
The CS revealed that sugar imports have dropped sharply from about 210,000 metric tonnes last year to approximately 60,000 metric tonnes this year.
He attributed the decline in part to the Sh40-per-kilogram excise duty introduced under the Finance Act, 2026, which has made imported sugar less competitive while protecting local producers.
Kagwe also announced tighter conditions for licensing new sugar factories in a bid to curb cane poaching, a challenge that has affected the sector for years.
He said investors seeking milling licences must prove they have adequate nucleus estates and sufficient contracted outgrowers before they can be approved.
“Before licensing any new factory, we must establish where its nucleus farm is located and confirm the availability of contracted outgrowers,” he said.
During the meeting, Harun Khator, Chairperson of the Kenya Sugar Board Grower Directors Election Committee and Secretary Administration in the State Department for Livestock Development, announced that elections for five regional grower directors to the Kenya Sugar Board will take place on September 5, 2026.
Khator said his office had been granted the legal mandate to oversee the process and pledged to conduct free and lawful elections in collaboration with all stakeholders.
The elections will fill the five grower representative positions provided for under the Sugar Act, 2024, completing the Board’s membership and paving the way for the Kenya Sugar Board to become fully operational.
