Sugar consumers are set for more pain at the shop shelf under the government’s plan to impose an excise duty of Sh5 per kilogramme of imported sugar at a time when a shortage of the commodity has driven prices to highs of Sh210 per kilogramme.
Treasury Cabinet secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said on Thursday in his Budget speech the duty, which would be passed on to the final consumer, is meant to discourage the consumption of sugar on health grounds.
