Kenya has made an about-turn on sugar importation, days after the National Treasury allowed duty-free importation of the commodity.
Sugar is retailing at an all-time high price of Sh200 per kilogramme, exacerbating the soaring cost of living for millions of households that are spending up to 70 per cent of their incomes on food. Initial measures aimed at cutting the retail prices for sugar had allowed “anybody” to import sugar from any part of the world without any taxation, setting the stage for friction with neighbours in the Common Market for the Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). “We have decided to place a cap on the amount of sugar that we can allow duty-free,” said Agriculture Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe.
Knee-jerk measures
The latest twist is contained in a gazette notice to be published this week. It comes only days after National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich allowed duty-free importation of sugar, highlighting shifty policy and knee-jerk measures taken to address major issues such as the prevailing food crisis.
Capping the amount of sugar that can be imported tax-free is expected to avert dumping of the commodity from non-COMESA countries.
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Annual sugar consumption in the country is estimated at 900,000 metric tonnes. Kenya allows a maximum of 350,000 metric tonnes of sugar from the region that include immediate neighbours in East Africa and Egypt a year. Rotich’s directive meant any importer could ship in any amount from low-cost countries such as Brazil, where a kilogramme of sugar costs less than Sh40 per kilogramme.
It would in essence be a platform for traders to make super profits at the expense of local sugarcane farmers.
