Feb, 3rd 2021 – Sugar millers have called for intervention from the sugar directorate, to address the falling prices of sugar. They are warning that the ripple effect will delay the current efforts of reviving the country’s moribund sugar sector.
According to Francis Ooko, Vice-Chair of Kenya Sugar Millers Association, cheap sugar has caused cane sugar to suffer huge losses. The millers have been unable to crash owing to competition in these cheap imports.
According to a report, United Millers has lost an appeal seeking to reverse the decision allowing the destruction of close to 30,000 bags of sugar that was imported three years ago.
A bench of three judges dismissed the appeal saying that it lacked merit. According to the judges, the millers failed to show how by ordering the destruction of the sugar, Kenya Bureaui of Standards acted unreasonably.
Judges Asike Makhandia, Patrick Kiage and Sankale ole Kantai said, “The court cannot be faulted for reaching this conclusion on account of capriciousness or unreasonableness. There was no proof that the 6th respondent (Anti-Counterfeit Agency) was an accredited body as well.”
KRA this January issued a circular to its staff to speed up the clearance of its 57,000 tonns of imported sugar by the end of February to exhaust the 250,000 allocated quarter as per the KOMESA sugar safeguard.
The decision simingly hitting the local industries below the belt. A 50 kilogram bag is now retailing at 4,400 shillings from the 4,700 shillings last year in October.