An entrance to Sony sugar company. [The Star]
Sugar prices could likely shoot up during the December festive season following the low sugar production by millers below 50 per cent, signalling pain to Kenyans.
According to Sony Sugar acting managing director Bernard Otieno, ten millers are currently operating under low production forcing some to close down for weeks as others are operating part-time due to the sugarcane shortage that was worsened by the prolonged political anxiety.
“We are currently operating only four days a week, which is better than most millers, who only operate twice a week, while others have closed shop completely,” said Otieno during an interview with the Star on Thursday.
Otieno noted that the current deficit has been contributed by the Government's withdrawal of Sugar Development Levy Fund by that was mainly used by millers in cane production.
“Currently, millers, especially government-owned ones, have been forced to dip into their merger income to develop cane, despite making losses,” added Otieno.
Otieno said that the millers are currently producing only 20,000 metric tonnes of sugar against the Governments target of 65, 000 metric tonnes per month and thus this has forced the bulk importation of deficit to meet the target.
The government had in May allowed importation of duty free sugar outside the Comesa region following a sharp rise in prices with a kilogramme of the commodity going at Sh200.
Traders and millers later imported 300,000 metric tonnes of the commodity as of August 2017 thus lowering the sugar prices to Sh 120 per kilo.