NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 27 – Sugar millers will have seven days to pay farmers after receiving sugarcane or face penalties, including interest on delayed payments, under a tougher enforcement regime by the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB).
The measures are aimed at protecting farmers from exploitation and ensuring growers receive timely payment for cane delivered to millers.
KSB Chief Executive Officer Jude Chesire said contracts between farmers and millers provide for sanctions against companies that fail to comply with the standard seven-day payment period.
Chesire said the regulator was also stepping up efforts to curb weighbridge malpractice, which has resulted in farmers losing payment for significant quantities of cane.
“Some farmers lose up to three tonnes of cane per trailer through weighbridge malpractices,” he said.
To address the problem, KSB is procuring mobile weighbridges that will allow the regulator to independently verify cane weights and strengthen oversight across the industry.
The Government has also invested in cane-testing units as Kenya moves towards a payment system that takes into account cane quality and sugar content rather than relying solely on weight.
Millers have further been directed to establish clear cane-harvesting frameworks by September 10. The frameworks are expected to improve the coordination of harvesting, transportation and delivery while reducing delays that leave mature cane deteriorating in farms.
The measures come as Kenya’s sugar industry records a significant recovery in production.
Domestic sugar production reached 815,454 metric tonnes (MT) in 2024, while 611,576 MT was produced in 2025. Between January and July 2026, production stood at 528,875 MT.
Production increased sharply in recent months, reaching 89,709 MT in June and a record 91,022 MT in July 2026.
Despite the recovery, Kenya remains a sugar-deficit country, with annual demand estimated at about 1.2 million MT. This includes approximately one million MT of brown or table sugar and 200,000 MT of white refined sugar used mainly by industries.
National sugar consumption reached about 1.216 million MT in 2025.
The deficit is mainly bridged through imports from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC) regions.
Kenya imported 477,551 MT of sugar in 2025, while 65,081 MT of brown sugar was imported between January and July 2026.
White refined sugar remains a major concern, with KSB estimating that Kenya spends about Sh30 billion annually on imports.
The Government is seeking to retain more of this money within the local economy by increasing domestic sugarcane production and expanding refining capacity.
As part of the immediate interventions, Kenya has started refining imported raw sugar locally rather than relying entirely on finished refined sugar.
Mombasa Sugar Refinery Limited, which has an installed refining capacity of about 150,000 MT annually, imported 27,839 MT of raw sugar and has commenced local refining.
KSB said safeguards have been put in place to ensure the imported raw sugar does not enter the table-sugar market before undergoing the required refining process.
In the long term, the Government plans to increase sugarcane acreage and productivity, improve milling efficiency, promote value addition and expand domestic refining capacity.
The measures are intended to strengthen Kenya’s sugar industry, improve returns to farmers and progressively reduce the country’s dependence on imported sugar.
