Why Kenyan Sugar Consumers Should Be Worried

Sugar, the term that always accompanies anything good and anything sweet. Sugar, a commodity that almost every Kenyan household cannot do without. Sugar, sweet but now proving to be expensive with the ever-skyrocketing prices. Is the increase in sugar prices in Kenya natural or someone somewhere is engineering them?

In January, this year, the price of one kilogram of sugar was retailing at between 105 to 110 shillings but by September this year, the sugar prices had jumped to between 140 to 145 shillings per kilogram in stores across the country.

First things first: How many sugar manufacturing companies do we have in Kenya? Kenya has more than 10 sugar manufacturing companies such as:

1. Mumias Sugar Company
2. Nzoia Sugar Company
3. South Nyanza Sugar Company
4. Muhoroni Sugar Company
5. Chemilil Sugar Company
6. West Kenya Sugar Company
7. Sony Sugar Company
8. Butali Sugar Mills
9. Transmara Sugar Company
10. Sukari Industries Limited and the rest.

The government of Kenya in its own wisdom to justify why sugar prices are so high despite having so many sugar companies said that there is an international shortage in sugar supply. The question is, do we have sugar shortage internationally? The answer is NO and here is a sample of some giant sugar manufacturers who paint a different picture:

1. India’s sugar mills produced 1.954 million tonnes of sugar, white value, in the second half of November 2016, up from 1.563 million tonnes in the same period last year, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) data showed.
2. French sugar output is expected to rise by 20 percent or around 1 million tonnes in 2017/18 (Oct/Sep) due to the scrapping of EU sugar production quotas, growers group CGB said.
3. Brazil exported 2.628 million tonnes of sugar, raw value, in November 2016, up significantly from 2.209 million in October and also above 2.386 million tonnes in the same month last year, Trade Ministry data showed.

These are just but a few indicators that international sugar supply is stable and there is no shortage of sugar supply and if there was, with the many sugar manufacturing companies in the country, the effect would not be felt as it is being felt at the moment.

With the international shortage excuse being out of question, the question still remains, what is the cause of the continuous sugar shortage in the country? There is only one simple reason that can explain this which many people in the corridors of power don’t want to agree with.

The 2017 General Elections are less than a year away. The campaigns are on. Politicians are busy traversing the country in the name of launching developmental projects and fundraising but in real sense, they are campaigning. Money is flowing and this might be just the reason why sugar prices are high; the 2017 General Elections.

The reason why sugar prices are high in Kenya is because the cartels are holding it back to make millions as the General Elections come and to raise money for political campaigns. In September, this year, Mr. Solomon Odera who is the head of sugar directorate, while speaking to Daily Nation, described the shortage as artificial and said that distributors are holding to sugar in various stores. He said “If you look at quantities that have been released to the market, both imports and local stocks, you will realize that distributors are withholding sugar. This is because what they take from factories and from imported consignments is not reflecting in the market,”

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