The Sugar Directorate said it had secured 100,000 tonnes of sugar from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) in a bid to force millers to release whatever stocks they may be holding. He said the directorate had issued traders with permits to bring in more sugar from Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Kenya is a sugar deficit country and is allowed to import duty free sugar from Comesa, with an annual quota of 350,000 tonnes. The price of a 2kg packet of maize flour remains high despite a marginal decline to an average of Sh130 currently. The Sugar Directorate said the shortage was at first due to severe drought that affected production in the major growing zones.

Source: Daily Nation May 06, 2017 15:22 UTC