How India's sugar export restrictions have hit Kenya

Kenya is now relying heavily on expensive sugar imports from neighbouring Uganda after India imposed export restrictions on the sweetener, in what is set to sustain higher consumer prices. Data from the Sugar Directorate shows 68 percent of the 21,887 tonnes of table sugar that Kenya imported in May came from Uganda, while shipment from India, which was the previous month’s leading source for the commodity declined to 24 percent. Read: Sugar rush fades for Indian farmers ahead of vote Ugandan sugar was expensive by 43 percent at Sh117, 848 a tonne compared to India’s Sh66,324 a tonne. India, the world’s second-largest producer after Brazil, has limited exports of the sweetener to six million tonnes following a drop in production due to deficient rainfall. “In May 2023, the bulk of mill white/brown sugar was sourced from Uganda (68 percent), India (24 percent), Zambia (nine percent) and less than one percent from Germany,” said the Sugar Directorate in a report. The price of a ...