Kenya bans sugar imports from outside COMESA and EAC as local production improves

Kenya on Tuesday, September 10, imposed a ban on sugar imports from outside the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC), two regional trade blocs, citing an increase in local production, Xinhua reports. Andrew Karanja, the cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said in a statement released in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that local sugar production has improved, with the country expected to produce more than 800,000 metric tonnes this year. Karanja said the government thus had not extended the import window for sugar from countries outside the COMESA and EAC trading blocs. He noted that over the past four years, Kenya produced about 700,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually from 16 factories, with production peaking at around 800,000 metric tonnes in 2022. Karanja observed that 2023 had been an unusual year, beginning with a severe drought that led to reduced sugar output, which necessitated ...