Farmers feel the pinch as cane earnings drop

BY BRIAN MOSETI AND LUKE ANAMI

Sugarcane farmers have yet again been slapped in the face after millers slashed sugarcane prices.

A section of millers have blamed the drop on an influx of imported sugar in the recent past, affecting sugar prices in the country.

“Millers have reduced the price of cane contrary to an agreement that the price of cane per tonne be reduced only if the price of sugar on the shelf reduces.  But that is not the case,” former Malava MP Soita Shitanda said.

At Butali Sugar Company in Malava constituency, farmers who have previously been receiving Sh3,800 for a tonne of cane now have to accept the slashed fee of Sh3,400 per tonne.

Shitanda, while citing the case of Butali Sugar Company, blamed the reduction on sugar imports. “What has happened to elected leaders in our Kakamega County? They should come and discuss this matter with the millers to alleviate the suffering of farmers,” he said.

Nzoia Sugar Company is the only factory whose price has remained steady at Sh3,800 per tonne. West Kenya Sugar Company, which used to have the highest price for cane has significantly dropped from Sh4,200 to Sh3,200 per tonne.

The industry regulator, Kenya Sugar Board (KSB), has sounded an alarm over an influx of imported sugar, which has made it difficult to sell local sugar. KSB says supermarkets are full of cheap imported sugar, making it difficult for millers to market their product.

“We are not able to estimate what is coming in through the porous borders. From January (2013) to the end of July, we had about 178,000 metric tonnes coming in. Out of this, about 55,000 metric tonnes was from Comesa,” Rosemary Mkok, the CEO of KSB said in an interview with The Standard.

KSB warned unscrupulous businessmen that they would be arrested if found smuggling sugar into the country.

“We are liaising with the necessary security agencies to ensure our borders are secure to prevent importation of sugar by unscrupulous business people.”

One of the largest millers in Kenya, Mumias Sugar Company, is alleged to have imported 10,000 tonnes of sugar at a time when there is an over-supply of the commodity. However, Ms Mkok exonerated Comesa sugar imports, saying they were not to blame for the current poor sugar prices.

“Under Comesa safeguards, we have about 340,000 metric tonnes that should be imported within the safeguard window that we were granted. So I would be quick to point out that it is not the legitimate imports that are depressing or distorting our market. It is those other sugars that are coming in through porous borders and the illegal imports,” Ms Mkok explained.

 However, millers want Comesa safeguards extended.

“It is our view that with the current scenario the government will negotiate further Comesa safeguards for a further two years so that we are all prepared. If this is not done, it will totally ground our local sugar industry as some millers are not ready for Comesa,” Sohil Patel of Butali said when he recently received Deputy President William Ruto at the factory.