Kenya Ends 24-Year Sugar Trade Barriers with COMESA

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Kenya's Shift in Sugar Policy: Opening the Market to Comesa Imports

Kenya has made a significant policy shift by opening its sugar subsector to cheaper imports from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region. This move marks the end of a long-standing protectionist measure that had been in place for over two decades. The decision comes after objections from some Comesa member states regarding the extension of tariff safeguards for Kenya’s sugar industry.

The policy change eliminates Kenya’s 350,000-tonne annual quota, which allowed the country to import duty-free sugar from the 21-member Comesa bloc to address its production deficit. Initially introduced to protect Kenya’s less efficient sugar industry while reforms were being implemented, the quota was meant to help build domestic capacity to compete with other Comesa countries.

According to the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) chairman, Nicholas Gumbo, Nairobi did not request an extension of these safeguards during the Comesa Council meeting held on December 4, 2025. He emphasized that the need for such measures would only arise if there was insufficient domestic capacity. “The first safeguards were put in place over 24 years ago to help the country build sufficient domestic capacity. The last extension was granted in November 2023, and that was on condition that there would be no further request for extension of the safeguards,” he said.

Gumbo also highlighted that leasing public sugar mills to private investors is a key strategy to improve efficiency and support Kenya’s push for self-sufficiency. “The remaining condition for the extension of the safeguards was divestiture from public mills, and you are aware that it has now been achieved after we leased out the mills in May,” he added. With two new mills set to come online in March, he expressed confidence that Kenya could achieve domestic self-sufficiency within two years.

Despite these efforts, Kenya continues to rely heavily on sugar imports. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the country imported 339,137 tonnes of sugar in 2024. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, imports reached 258,775 tonnes. This reliance persists even though 2024 was a peak production year, with output rising to 815,485 tonnes—the highest in years—due to policies that discouraged premature harvesting and improved access to inputs.

Kenya’s total sugar demand in 2025 was projected at 1.13 million tonnes, with imports expected to exceed 350,000 tonnes to offset constrained domestic production. The Comesa Assistant Secretary General for Administration and Finance Development, Anand Haman, noted that the safeguards granted to Kenya had been extended too many times, causing discomfort among some member states. “Kenya is already on its seventh extension. Now, there are countries that have been against this extension,” he said.

The Comesa Council meeting in Lusaka granted Kenya a final two-year extension in November 2023, allowing the completion of reforms aimed at making the sugar industry competitive ahead of full integration into the Comesa free trade regime. However, this seventh extension exceeded the five-year limit allowed under Comesa trade rules and expired in November 2025.

Major sugar-producing countries in Comesa include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Malawi, Mauritius, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Kenya has made significant progress in sugar production, but the sector still faces structural deficits. Domestic production meets about 72 percent of consumption, and output is projected to fall by nearly 20 percent in 2025 due to lower extraction rates and early cane harvesting.

Sugar consumption is expected to rise to 1.14 million tonnes, driven by household demand and growth in the hospitality sector. To offset the shortfall, imports are forecast to surge by five percent, mainly from Comesa and East African Community (EAC) countries that benefit from tariff preferences.

Field visits in August 2025 indicated that Kenya’s sugar industry remains under considerable strain. Premature cane harvesting has created an acute shortage of mature cane, forcing many mills in western regions to scale back operations or shut down intermittently. Reduced harvested area, weaker yields, and lower extraction rates have compounded production challenges.

Sugarcane is mainly grown in western Kenya and the Lake Victoria Basin, covering Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, and parts of Nyanza. Small-scale farmers, cultivating less than one hectare each, produce about 93 percent of the cane, while large plantations owned by millers account for the remaining seven percent.