Kenya has opened its sugar subsector to cheaper imports from the Comesa region after dropping its push for a further extension of protectionist measures that have been in place for more than two decades.

 

The policy shift follows objections by some Comesa member states in October 2025 to prolonging tariff safeguards for Kenya’s sugar industry.

The quota had been granted to shield Kenya’s less efficient sugar industry from cheaper imports while reforms were implemented to improve competitiveness.

The EastAfrican has learnt that Nairobi did not submit a request to extend the safeguards during the Comesa Council meeting held on December 4, 2025.

Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) chairman Nicholas Gumbo said the country would not seek further extensions.“You only need a safeguard if you don’t have adequate domestic capacity. For Kenya, the first safeguards were put in place over 24 years ago to help the country build sufficient domestic capacity to compete on the same footing with the other Comesa countries. The last extension was granted in November 2023, and that was on condition that there would be no further request for extension of the safeguards. And, from where we sit, we do not need it,” Mr Gumbo told The EastAfrican.

Leasing sugar millsHe said leasing public sugar mills to private investors would improve efficiency and support Kenya’s push for self-sufficiency.“The remaining condition for the extension of the safeguards was divestiture from public mills, and you are aware that it has now been achieved after we leased out the mills in May,” he said. “Considering the divestiture, the mills are now more efficient and we also have two mills coming into operation in March. I’m confident that we are on course to attain domestic self-sufficiency in about two years’ time.”According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Kenya imported 339,137 tonnes of sugar in 2024. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, imports reached 258,775 tonnes, underscoring the sector’s continued reliance on imports.

This dependence persists despite 2024 being a peak production year, when output rose to 815,485 tonnes—the highest in years—on the back of policies that discouraged premature harvesting and improved access to inputs.

Kenya’s total sugar demand in 2025 was projected at 1.13 million tonnes, with imports expected to exceed 350,000 tonnes to offset constrained domestic production.

Comesa Assistant Secretary General for Administration and Finance Development Anand Haman said in October that the safeguards granted to Kenya had dragged on too long, making some member states uncomfortable.

He said Kenya would need to do a lot of “convincing” for Comesa to grant another extension.“Kenya is already on its seventh extension. Now, there are countries that have been against this extension,” Dr Haman told The EastAfrican on October 1.

On November 23, 2023, the Comesa Council meeting in Lusaka granted Kenya a final two-year extension to allow completion of reforms aimed at making the sugar industry competitive ahead of full integration into the Comesa free trade regime. This seventh extension exceeded the five-year limit allowed under Comesa trade rules and expired in November 2025.

Major sugar-producing countries in Comesa include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Malawi, Mauritius, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Kenya said it had made significant progress in sugar production and that a decision would be made on whether to seek a reduced volume of duty-free imports based on updated data on production and deficits.

When Kenya joined the Comesa free trade area in 2000, sugar imports surged, hurting the domestic subsector. As a result, the country was granted a safeguard that capped duty-free imports at 200,000 tonnes.

Comesa later set conditions for liberalising the subsector, including privatisation of state-owned millers, diversification into ethanol and cogeneration, changes to cane payment formulas, and increased production capacity.

Privatisation efforts were derailed by court cases and political interference, prompting the government to adopt a leasing model instead.

Kenya has since leased four major state-owned mills—Nzoia, Chemelil, Sony and Muhoroni—to private investors on 30-year terms. The arrangement brings in private capital for modernisation, improves efficiency and ensures farmer payments, while the government retains ownership and oversight.

The USDA says Kenya’s sugar sector continues to face structural deficits, with domestic production meeting only about 72 percent of consumption in 2024. Output is projected to fall by nearly 20 percent in 2025 to below 815,485 tonnes due to lower extraction rates and early cane harvesting.

Sugar consumption is expected to rise to 1.14 million tonnes, driven by household demand and growth in the hospitality sector.“To offset the shortfall, imports are forecast to surge by five percent, mainly from Comesa and East African Community (EAC) countries that benefit from tariff preferences,” the agency said in a report dated November 25, 2025.“August 2025 field visits suggest that Kenya’s sugar industry remains under considerable strain. Premature cane harvesting has created an acute shortage of mature cane, forcing many mills in the western sugar-producing regions to scale back operations or shut down intermittently.”The report said reduced harvested area, weaker yields and lower extraction rates have compounded production challenges.

Sugarcane is mainly grown in western Kenya and the Lake Victoria Basin, covering Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia and parts of Nyanza.

Small-scale farmers, cultivating less than one hectare each, produce about 93 percent of the cane, while large plantations owned by millers account for the remaining seven percent.

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