Fix sugar millers’ woes

The sugar industry has been bedevilled by grave challenges in the past few years. It will take some effort to bring the sub-sector back to where it was some years back, as a key source of livelihood for farmers, employment for youth and sustenance for related businesses.

A task force appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to look into the state of the industry came up with a raft of recommendations on how to revive it.

To speed up the changes, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has, through the Sugarcane Pricing Committee, raised the price of cane from Sh3,700 to Sh4,040 per tonne and warned that millers who fail to adhere to the new price risk prosecution and, if convicted, will pay a hefty fine or serve a year in jail.

Now, the millers also want the government to set the minimum price of sugar to safeguard the local industry. The Kenya Sugar Manufacturers Association is concerned about the dumping of cheap sugar, which threatens to cripple its members’ operations.

Cheap imported sugar

Cartels have in the past flooded the local market with cheap imported sugar that the local firms could not compete with.

The millers want the pricing committee to also look into their plight. They see the fixing of a minimum sugar price as the best means to shield them against financial difficulties.

Indeed, the pricing committee cannot just cater for the growers alone and ignore the millers, who are struggling to stay afloat. However, the lasting solution lies in fully implementing the proposals by the presidential task force. Some of the recommendations, including privatisation of sugarmills, will take much longer.

Immediate practical measures should be implemented to restore farmers’ confidence in growing sugarcane. Both the millers and growers need a reasonable return on their investments for the industry to be sustainable.