High Court halts importation of duty-free sugar

Sugar barons and factories which don’t have their own cane to provide raw materials have been dealt a big blow after High Court temporarily stopped government from importing duty free sugar.

The orders were issued after activist Okiya Omtatah moved to court challenging a gazette notice issued on October 4th allowing importation of duty free sugar.

Currently, the wholesale price for imported sugar is average Ksh3,600 per 50kg bags whereas factory price for local manufacturers is between Ksh4,000 – Ksh4,400.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has been named as the respondent in the case

According to Omtatah, the waiver is arbitrarily imposed without public participation involving all stakeholders, including the affected local sugar industry.

He says that if the importation of duty free sugar is allowed it will complicate matters for the hundreds of thousands of sugarcane farmers and workers in sugar factories across the country.