By Hope Barbra
A seven-day notice has been issued to sugar millers to pay farmers after delivery of sugarcane or face penalties, including interest on delayed payments.
The move comes as the Government launches a tougher enforcement regime to protect growers from exploitation and put more money into farmers’ pockets.
The Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) said the days when farmers waited indefinitely for payment after delivering cane must come to an end.
The board said there are contracts now providing clear sanctions against millers who violate the standard seven-day payment period.
KSB CEO Jude Chesire said the regulator was simultaneously moving against weighbridge malpractices that have seen some farmers lose up to three tons of cane per trailer.
Chesire said the malpractices were denying growers payment for cane they have produced, harvested and transported.
He said KSB was procuring mobile weighbridges to independently verify cane weights and strengthen enforcement.
“The Government has also invested in cane-testing units as the industry moves towards a payment system that considers quality and sugar content rather than relying solely on weight,” he said.
Chesire said the board has also directed the millers to establish clear cane harvesting frameworks by September 10, 2026.
Through this, the Government seeks to streamline harvesting, transportation and delivery and end delays that leave mature cane deteriorating in farms.
The tough farmer-protection measures come as Kenya’s sugar industry records a significant production recovery.
Production
Domestic sugar production reached 815,454 MT in 2024, the highest level in recent years.
Kenya produced 611,576 MT in 2025, while production between January and July 2026 stood at 528,875 MT.
The recovery accelerated sharply in recent months, with production reaching 89,709 MT in June and a record 91,022 MT in July 2026.
Despite the improvement, Kenya remains a sugar-deficit country, with annual demand standing at approximately 1.2 million MT, comprising about 1 million MT of brown/table sugar and 200,000 MT of white refined sugar for industrial use.
National sugar consumption reached approximately 1.216 million MT in 2025.
The deficit continues to be bridged through imports, mainly from the COMESA and EAC regions. Kenya imported 477,551 MT of sugar in 2025, while another 65,081 MT of brown sugar was imported between January and July 2026.
Of particular concern was white refined sugar. KSB estimates that Kenya spends approximately KSh30 billion annually importing white refined sugar.
He said the country could reduce the importation if Kenya expands sugarcane production and develops its own refining capacity.
“As an immediate intervention, Kenya has started refining imported raw sugar locally instead of relying entirely on finished refined sugar,” he said.
Mombasa Sugar Refinery Limited, with an installed refining capacity of about 150,000 MT annually, imported 27,839 MT of raw sugar and has commenced local refining.
Chesire said strict safeguards have been established to ensure the raw sugar cannot leak into the table-sugar market before being refined.
“The long-term target, however, was to grow more cane in Kenya. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, through KSB, is pushing increased cane acreage and productivity, better milling efficiency, value addition and expanded domestic refining capacity to progressively reduce the country’s dependence on imports,” he said.
