A Major Sugar Crisis Looms

By Ronnel Onchagwa and Leonard Mutinda

Nairobi residents may be forced to forgo sugar as early as next week unless quick measures are taken to avert a looming shortage crisis.

Most shelves in supermarkets within the city remain empty as the commodity has run out of stock. In some, other goods have found use for the sugar shelves. In the few supermarkets that have the commodity, a self imposed sugar per customer rationing system has been initiated.

Most supermarkets reported that for last two weeks sugar supply has been sporadic. Supermarket attendants who asked not to be named speculated that the shortage may be artificial as manufacturers and middlemen along the supply chain withhold the commodity.

As a result most supermarkets have resulted to limiting customers to only two 2kg packets of sugar in a bid to ensure that everyone gets a share of the little that is available.

Some supermarkets have already started taking advantage of the shortage and are forcing customers to buy other goods alongside the sugar. 

But even as the supermarkets blame external factors for the shortage; speculation is rife that they too have a hand in creating the artificial shortage by withholding the sugar within their stores.

Shortage of sugar has resulted in the increase of prices in parts of the country with most supermarkets selling it at sh130 per kilogram.

This reduced availability of the commodity on the shelves can be attributed to shortage of sugarcane. The drop in cane supply has been blamed on reduced production by farmers and lower deliveries to the mills because of decreased rainfall that has reduced harvests

The Kenya Sugar Board, last month accused speculators of conspiring to restrict the distribution of sugar to retailers. The last time it happened, the board allowed millers to sell the sugar directly to the retailers and consumers.

KSB said that speculative distributors saw the annual closure of Mumias Sugar Factory, for routine maintenance on 10 July, as an opportunity to make a killing.

Currently, Kenya’s sugar demand stands at 700,000 – 900,000 tonnes against the production of 500,000 tonnes. To cover the deficit, Kenya imports 300,000 tonnes of sugar, which is expected to come from COMESA trade block partners

In 2003 Kenya sought COMESA intervention of safeguard mechanism to protect its sugar industry from threats by imported sugar thus limiting imports from COMESA to 200,000 tonnes. This has increased to 3000,000. The Safeguards are expected to expire in March 2012, meaning unlimited import of sugar from COMESA member states.