A Look At Prices Of Sugar Across Naivas, Cleanshelf, Quickmart And Carrefour
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Kenyan households are once again watching the price of sugar, one of the most politically sensitive commodities in the country’s shopping basket.
A snapshot of prices across major supermarket chains, Naivas, Cleanshelf, Quickmart and Carrefour, shows a market still adjusting to a mix of local production shortfalls, a steep new import duty, and shifting shelf discounts.
A kilogram of sugar is retailing at:
- Quickmart: Ksh. 125 – Ksh. 130
- Naivas 120 – Ksh. 124
- Carrefour: from Ksh. 120
- Cleanshelf Ksh. 140 – Ksh. 155
According to commodity price data, nationally, sugar has been averaging around Ksh 135 per kg as of July 2026, down roughly a third from a year earlier.
Under the Finance Act 2026, Kenya raised excise duty on imported sugar from Ksh 7,500 to Ksh 40,000 per tonne, effective July 1, 2026, a more than five-fold increase.
The move is meant to protect local millers, but Ugandan sugar producers have formally protested, warning it will price their exports out of the Kenyan market and could ripple through EAC trade relations.
Kenya’s sugar sector has been contending with a cane shortage tied to shrinking acreage and aging plantations, with the 2025/2026 marketing year expected to see local output fall sharply from the previous year.
That gap has forced the country to lean more heavily on imports, which the new duty now makes considerably more expensive.
Sugar has long been a bellwether for the state of household budgets in Kenya, alongside maize flour, cooking oil and rice.
Past price comparisons across these same supermarket chains have shown Kenyans increasingly shopping around, comparing brands and outlets, to stretch shrinking incomes, particularly amid a wave of retrenchments and a tighter economy.
With the new import levy just a few weeks ago, retail prices may not have fully caught up yet. That makes now a good moment to track how quickly, and how much, the duty passes through to the shelf price at each chain.
