Kenya granted 1-year extension of regional sugar import safeguards

Kenya has been granted a one-year extension of sugar import limits from the regional trade bloc Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to revamp its ailing sugar industry.

The arrangement limiting imports expired at the end of February but Kenya requested for a two year extension saying increased imports could smother the east Africa nation's sugar business which is not competitive and has a number of loss-making companies that are struggling to stay afloat.

"The Kenyan sugar sector has been given a one year extension of the existing safeguard subject to review and renewal for another one year," the bloc said in a statement on Thursday.

The east African nation is struggling to improve output due to relatively high production costs and loss-making sugar factories, which produce a total of 600,000 tonnes of sugar a year, below the annual consumption of 800,000 tonnes.

The deficit is covered through strict import quotas from COMESA.