Loaders offload sugar that was stopped on grounds it contains mercury and copper. More than 500,000 tonnes so far intercepted in ongoing crackdown. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The volume of sugar brought in dropped to 80,596 early this year from 183,556 tonnes in the first five months of last year.
More than 500,000 tonnes of contraband sugar has been confiscated in the ongoing crackdown.
In the period under review, table sugar imports totalled 5,732 tonnes while refined white sugar was 13,349 tonnes.
Sugar imports in the five months to May dropped 50 per cent compared with the similar period last year as traders shied away from shipping in the commodity due to a market glut.
A market report by the Sugar Directorate indicates the volume of sugar brought in dropped to 80,596 early this year from 183,556 tonnes in the first five months of last year.
More than 500,000 tonnes of contraband sugar has been confiscated in the ongoing crackdown.
The monthly report indicates that in May, the volumes imported went down from 30,089 tonnes last year to 19,081 in 2018.
In the period under review, table sugar imports totalled 5,732 tonnes while refined white sugar was 13,349 tonnes.
The directorate has been regulating the volume of imported sweetener to an average of 7,000 tonnes a month from highs of 29,000 tonnes in an ideal situation.
Normally, Kenya is annually allowed to import 350,000 tonnes of sugar from Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), which is spread across the year to about 30,000 tonnes monthly.
The country imported 981,000 tonnes of sugar between May and December last year as Kenya opened the duty-free window to allow traders to ship in the commodity outside Comesa to bridge the local deficit.
However, the contraband sugar is not part of 981,000 tonnes cleared by the directorate as the owners evaded tax using illegal routes to ship in the commodity.
The directorate says the number of traders seeking import permit has gone down in the recent months because of the flooding.
The Treasury scrapped duty on the commodity last year following a sharp decline in production that saw the price of sugar go up to Sh400 per two kilo packet.
Kenya produces about 600,000 tonnes of sugar a year, compared with annual consumption of 870,000 tonnes.
The sugar deficit is usually covered by stringently controlled imports from Comesa trade bloc with the country allowing in only 300,000 tonnes annually.
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