Sugar on sale at Tuskys Supermarket. [Photo/Standard.co.ke]
The state will in the next 2-3 weeks receive 40,000MT of sugar from COMESA countries. A further consignment of 60,000MT is expected in the next two months to address sugar shortage, Alfred Busolo, Interim Director General for the Agriculture and Food Authority has said.
Busolo said that local mills will also receive all the cane that is ready for harvesting within the milling zones for processing so as to increase sugar stocks.
“The millers will also release all the stocks they are currently holding into the market,” he said as quoted by the standard.
“We wish to assure Kenyans that all efforts are being made to ensure adequate sugar is available and there should be no cause for alarm,” he added.
The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) attributes the shortage to a drop in sugarcane production within Kenyan and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region that has affected supply.
The sugar scarcity has already seen retail prices skyrocket, hitting a high of Sh335 for a two-kilogram pack.