Sony Sugar Company Acting Managing Director Benard Otieno said the miller is grappling with shortage of raw material after harvesting nearly all the mature cane in Migori, Homa Bay and Kisii counties.
Monday, Chemelil suspended over 600 casual and temporary workers because it cannot pay them. Mr Agwet said the 800 temporary workers have not received their salaries from April.
Currently, the firm is shut with no electricity and raw materials to crush. The company owes the Kenya Power Sh5.7 million.
Sony and Chemelil have become the latest sugar firms to warn of difficult times ahead as cane shortage and financial distress continue to bite.
Sony Sugar Company Acting Managing Director Benard Otieno said the miller is grappling with shortage of raw material after harvesting nearly all the mature cane in Migori, Homa Bay and Kisii counties.
“Our early harvesting efforts have paid off and the farmers are no longer complaining about over-age cane in the farms. But the onus is now on the growers to embark on massive cane development exercise,” he said.
Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Growers national secretary-general Ezra Okoth said the more than 30,000 farmers in the region should be assisted to develop their farms immediately so that operations of the millers are sustained.
“I ask our county governments to lend farmers soft loans to help them develop their farms and then the county administrations can recover the money when farmers are paid by the millers,” he said In Chemelil, workers held a peaceful demonstration demanding disbursement of Sh300 million promised by the government in the run-up to the August 8 polls.
Through their union officials, the workers said it is now three months since President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy President William Ruto promised to give them the bailout cash.
“This is a state company that has been forgotten as the government concentrates on reviving Mumias Sugar Company which is a private firm,” said Mr Samuel Agwet, chairman of the Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation and Allied Workers Union.
The government has since released Sh500 million to Mumias Sugar and Sh300 million to Sony Sugar. Last month, the State allowed importers to ship in about 15,000 tonnes of duty-free sugar to plug the shortage.
Monday, Chemelil suspended over 600 casual and temporary workers because it cannot pay them. Mr Agwet said the 800 temporary workers have not received their salaries from April.
Currently, the firm is shut with no electricity and raw materials to crush. The company owes the Kenya Power Sh5.7 million.
“I don’t think reviving these firms will be expensive to the government,” said Mr Francis Wangara, the secretary general of the Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation and Allied Workers.
Mr Okoth said since the collapse of the Sugar Development Levy, growers have no fund where they can get low interest loan for cane development.
