Jitters in Kenya’s sugar industry as Comesa imports gate thrown wide

Dilapidated facilities and stalled machinery at Chemelil Sugar Factory on June 17, 2025.

Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group

The decision by the government to lift safeguards on cheap sugar imports from sugarcane-growing members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has rattled the traditionally troubled industry.

On Sunday, the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) announced that Kenya had officially exited the import safeguard regime under the Comesa, ending 24 years of protection from cheap sugar imports from the bloc’s other 20 members. The country had sought extensions of the safeguards eight times.

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