Sugar prices in Kenya saw a welcome drop of 4.6% in February after a four-month-long ban on cane crushing was lifted. This increase in local production provided relief to consumers who had been facing record-high prices, reported Business Daily Africa.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the average price of a kilogram of sugar decreased from Sh209.55 in January to Sh200.01 in February.
A visit to Naivas Supermarket indicated that a kilogram of white sugar is currently retailing at prices ranging between Sh195 and Sh199.5. Similarly, at Carrefour, the retail range was between Sh185 and Sh195. The decline in sugar prices contributed to an overall easing of inflation in February, with KNBS reporting a drop from 6.9 percent in January to 6.3 percent.
According to KNBS, several food products, including tomatoes, sugar, maize grain (loose), and maize flour (loose), saw price reductions of 5.7 percent, 4.6 percent, 3.4 percent, and 1.6 percent, respectively, between January and February 2024.
The decrease in sugar prices is particularly beneficial for households, food manufacturers, and pharmaceutical firms that have grappled with exceptionally high prices. The drop is attributed to a surge in local sugar production after the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) permitted sugar factories to resume operations fully. The AFA had implemented restrictions in July of the previous year, aiming to allow immature cane to ripen.
