Kenya Sugar Board Reports 56.7% Production Rise and Price Drop

The Kenya Sugar Board announced that local sugar output grew by 56.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 690,521 tonnes compared with 440,652 tonnes in the same period of 2025.

The increase helped lower the national average retail price to KSh155 per kilogram in September 2026, down from KSh171 a year earlier, which means a two-kilogram pack now costs KSh32 less.

Board chief executive Jude Chesire, who also chairs the Council of the International Sugar Organization, facilitated a breakthrough after three voting rounds failed to produce a candidate, leading to the appointment of Mauritius’ Devesh Devani for a four-year term followed by Brazil’s Eduardo Leão de Sousa, with the decision reached on September 22, 2026.

“Kenya by next year will start building surpluses for exports and requires such a platform to create new markets,” Chesire said.

The board forecasts total production of 900,000 tonnes for the year, against an estimated domestic demand of one million tonnes, up from roughly 650,000 tonnes produced in 2025.

Sugarcane deliveries to factories rose to 7.76 million tonnes in the January-September period, a 56.2 per cent increase from 4.97 million tonnes a year earlier.

Sugar imports fell by about 31 per cent to 251,690 tonnes between January and September 2026, down from 364,486 tonnes in the comparable period of 2025.

Imports of mill white and brown sugar dropped around 71 per cent to 65,845 tonnes from 226,730 tonnes, while refined white sugar imports rose to 158,006 tonnes from 137,756 tonnes.

Local millers’ cumulative sales grew 45.6 per cent to 635,672 tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, compared with 436,593 tonnes in the same period of 2025.

Sugar stocks at the end of September stood at 70,773 tonnes, up from 14,033 tonnes a year earlier.

Molasses production increased 62.1 per cent to 307,617 tonnes in the January-September window, and molasses inventories rose to 65,384 tonnes by the end of September, compared with 12,735 tonnes a year before.

Exports remained modest, reaching 315.57 tonnes between January and September 2026, versus 244.80 tonnes in the same period last year.

“Conversations are now building up towards biofuels and ethanol production,” Chesire added, noting that Kenya has begun the process and is seeking to benchmark with established producers such as Brazil.