Kenya has been granted yet another extension by Comesa for safeguards on sugar imports. This means the amount of sugar coming in from the regional bloc would remain limited.
The current Comesa safeguards were to lapse in February 2023, after which imports from the region would have gone up significantly.
The reason for the nine-month extension is that the country’s sugar industry is not adequately equipped to compete favourably with produce from the region having not fully implemented essential reforms that the trading bloc has recommended.
While it is hard to argue against the intention of the extension, the question is whether Kenya is serious in its promise to reform the sector which is currently on its knees.
The first extension of Comesa safeguards goes back to 2014, and eight years down the road the country has evidently made minimal progress in reforming the sector.
It is estimated that the cost of producing a tonne of sugar is about Sh110,000 ($900) in western Kenya, while in countries such as Mauritius farmers spend Sh50,000 ($400). This is a massive gap that Kenya must act urgently to address.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
