Sugar millers face penalties for delaying farmers’ payments
KSB Chief Executive Officer Jude Chesire said millers that fail to meet the standard seven-day payment period will face sanctions, including interest charges on delayed payments.
Sugar millers will have seven days to pay farmers after receiving sugarcane under tougher enforcement measures introduced by the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) to protect growers from delayed payments and other industry malpractices.
KSB Chief Executive Officer Jude Chesire said millers that fail to meet the standard seven-day payment period will face sanctions, including interest charges on delayed payments.
Chesire said the payment timelines are provided for in contracts between farmers and millers and that the regulator would take action against companies that fail to comply.
The board is also stepping up efforts to tackle malpractice at weighbridges, which has been blamed for reducing the amount farmers are paid for cane delivered to factories.
“Some farmers lose up to three tonnes of cane per trailer through weighbridge malpractices,” Chesire said.
Such disputed weight deductions can significantly reduce farmers’ earnings, since payments have traditionally been linked largely to the quantity of cane delivered.
To strengthen oversight, KSB is procuring mobile weighbridges that will enable independent verification of cane weights and provide an additional layer of accountability in the weighing process.
The regulator is also supporting the deployment of cane-testing units as the industry transitions towards a payment system that takes into account both cane quality and sugar content, rather than relying solely on weight.
The reforms come amid efforts to improve coordination between farmers and millers. Millers have been directed to establish clear cane-harvesting frameworks by September 10, with the systems expected to improve the scheduling of harvesting, transportation and delivery.
The move is intended to reduce delays that leave mature cane in farms for extended periods, resulting in deterioration and potential losses for growers.
The payment and weighing reforms come as Kenya’s sugar industry records a gradual recovery in production, although domestic output remains significantly below national demand.
Kenya produced 815,454 metric tonnes of sugar in 2024, the highest annual production level in recent years. Output declined to 611,576 metric tonnes in 2025.
Between January and July 2026, the country produced 528,875 metric tonnes of sugar.
Production has nevertheless shown signs of improvement in recent months. Output rose to 89,709 metric tonnes in June before reaching a record 91,022 metric tonnes in July, according to industry data.
Despite the recovery, Kenya remains a sugar-deficit country and continues to rely on imports to bridge the gap between local production and consumption.
Annual sugar demand is estimated at approximately 1.2 million metric tonnes, comprising about one million tonnes of brown or table sugar and another 200,000 tonnes of white refined sugar used primarily by industrial consumers.
National sugar consumption reached approximately 1.216 million metric tonnes in 2025, highlighting the persistent gap between domestic production and demand.
