Local millers demand greater role in decisions on sugar imports

Local sugar cane millers are demanding a larger say in decisions regarding sugar imports to safeguard their own production and the farmers who grow their raw materials. On September 16, 2026, they addressed the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives during a visit to sugar companies in western Kenya. Managing Director of Butali Sugar, Sanjay Patel, emphasized that local mills cannot meet the demand for sugar and thus need a voice in determining the timing, volume, and release of imported sugar.

Patel argued that sudden large imports can negatively impact local businesses and called for more controlled, batch-wise importation to provide local mills with time to sell their existing stock. The millers also pushed for stricter regulation on sugar repackaging, seeking to limit the practice to millers only. This move, they argued, would enhance hygiene standards and boost consumer confidence.

While Mumias Sugar Mills' recent importation of 27,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar did not impact their factory, as it was intended for industrial use, the millers still called for a more organized system of importing sugar. They asserted that government intervention is necessary to implement stricter policies regulating sugar imports.

The scrutiny of these importation practices was initiated by the Committee, led by Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, who was concerned about the impact of imported raw sugar on the domestic sugar industry. The Committee, during their inspection, also visited an industrial facility in Ikolomani that lacked electricity, delaying its operations.

The Committee's examination will continue in Busia County, where they plan to visit Busia Sugar Company, Nasewa EPZ, and the Busia County Aggregation Industrial Park.