Kenya moves to tighten sugar import rules amid farmer concerns
Lawmakers are consulting sugar industry stakeholders as Kenya reviews import controls following the expiry of its long-running Comesa safeguard regime.
KENYA – Kenya’s Parliament is considering new legislation to regulate sugar imports amid concerns that cheaper foreign sugar is putting pressure on domestic millers and sugarcane farmers.
Committee chairman Bernard Shinali said the consultations would help lawmakers understand the sector’s challenges and develop measures to protect local production.
“We want to use these views to develop a law that will help regulate imports and protect local sugar industry. Our engagement with farmers and other players in the sector will help us come up with a framework that will address the issues,” Shinali said.
Kenya currently regulates sugar imports under the Sugar Act 2024 and the Sugar (Imports and Exports) Regulations 2025, alongside an import licence freeze imposed by the Ministry of Agriculture.
During a meeting at Nzoia Sugar Company in Bungoma, stakeholders raised concerns over increased sugar imports from neighbouring Uganda, saying the inflows were putting pressure on prices of locally produced sugar. They also called for measures to address challenges facing cane growers, including delayed payments for cane supplied to mills.
Funyula MP Oundo Mudenyo said efforts to revive Kenya’s sugar sector were encouraging but required further government intervention.
Rai Group of Companies head of external affairs and communication George Muruli urged farmers to continue developing sugarcane, saying the mill had considered recommendations raised by farmers and other stakeholders.
Stakeholders also called for tighter controls on imports and measures to address persistent problems facing cane growers, including payment delays. The committee said views gathered during the tour would inform the proposed framework for sugar imports and local industry protection.
The consultations come after Kenya’s 24-year sugar safeguard regime expired on November 30, 2025, ending quotas on sugar imports from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) bloc.
The safeguard regime was introduced in 2001 and renewed eight times, allowing Kenya to import up to 350,000 tonnes annually from Comesa.
The 2024 Sugar Act provides a framework for regulating, developing and promoting Kenya’s sugar industry. It also re-established the Kenya Sugar Board and introduced mechanisms covering sugar trade, farmer support and sector oversight.
The committee’s consultations are expected to inform the proposed import framework as lawmakers assess measures affecting sugar imports, local production and the wider sugar value chain.
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