Members of the National Assembly’s Trade Committee have also raised concerns on cane poaching in the sugarcane growing belt.
The committee chaired by Tigania West MP John Mutunga said stronger safeguards is the only way to protect the interest of local farmers and factories.
The committee made the call while visiting South Nyanza Sugar Company (Sony Sugar) in Migori as part of its ongoing inquiry into the importation of raw sugar into the country and efforts to address challenges facing the sugar sector.
“We need to tighten our borders and stop illegal sugar from coming into the country. I have a responsibility to protect Kenyan farmers, especially the cane farmers in my constituency, who depend on this industry for their livelihoods,” Funyula MP Oundo Midenyo said.
Sony Sugar Managing Director Jane Pamela told the committee that high levels of sugar imports had adversely affected local manufacturers by depressing the market.
She raised concerns over illegal sugar imports through porous borders, saying cheap sugar from neighbouring countries was flooding the local market and slowing the absorption of locally produced sugar.
Pamela also called for measures to ensure farmers have access to affordable fertiliser to boost sugarcane production.
She said farmers were facing difficulties accessing government-subsidised fertiliser, which is cheaper than fertiliser purchased directly from the market.
“Illegal sugar imports through porous borders are flooding the local market with cheap sugar,” Pamela said.
She called for tighter regulation of the sugar industry, saying millers continued to face poor prices and declining profit margins. That challenge is affecting farmers' ability to maintain adequate cane production and called for improved access to the subsidised inputs.
The MPs also heard concerns over cane diversion to jaggery, which uses traditional methods to process sugarcane into unrefined whole-cane sugar.
Sony Sugar currently has adequate cane for processing, with about 8,000 hectares under contracted farmers.
However, the MD expressed concern over continued poaching by other sugar mills and jaggeries.
Aldai MP Maryanne Keitany questioned whether there was a mechanism to control the production and selling of cane by contracted farmers to ensure farmers who receive inputs and other support from a particular miller do not subsequently sell their cane to competitors.
“Can we have a mechanism to ensure that farmers who receive inputs and other support from a particular sugar company honour their contracts and supply their cane to that company, rather than diverting it to other millers or jaggeries?,” Keitany posed.
“This is important in protecting the financial investments that companies make in supporting farmers.”
The issue of cane poaching was also raised by the head of agriculture at Nzoia Sugar Company, who called for the full operationalisation of the Sugar Act and the Sugar Regulations, 2025 to strengthen regulation of the sector and address cane poaching and theft.
