The Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) has ordered a three-month shutdown of sugar factories in Western Kenya starting July 14, 2025, citing a severe shortage of mature sugarcane that has led to significant losses for farmers.
The directive, affecting key mills like Mumias, Nzoia, Butali, Busia, and West Kenya in counties such as Bungoma, Kakamega, and Trans-Nzoia, follows reports of mills harvesting immature cane, compromising yields and farmer incomes.
Concurrently, the Tea Board of Kenya reported a 15% drop in tea production to 188 million kilograms in the first four months of 2025, attributed to reduced rainfall, with full-year output expected to fall slightly below 2024’s 540 million kilograms.
These agricultural setbacks, amid ongoing economic challenges and Saba Saba protests costing Sh18 billion daily in GDP losses, threaten Kenya’s key cash crop sectors.
The KSB, led by Acting CEO Jude Chesire, announced the suspension during a July 4 stakeholder meeting in Kisumu.
The decision aims to allow cane to mature, addressing a crisis driven by aggressive harvesting and a 21% drop in cane-growing area to 150,000 hectares in 2025/26, per the USDA.
“Millers must aggressively develop cane to ensure future supply,” Chesire urged, noting a planned two-month Cane Availability Survey to assess mature cane volumes and optimise milling capacity upon resumption in October 2025.
The shutdown, impacting 320,000 small-scale farmers who produce 93% of Kenya’s cane, is expected to exacerbate a projected 19.8% sugar production drop to 650,000 metric tonnes in 2025/26, prompting a 38% surge in imports to 600,000 tonnes, largely from Comesa and EAC countries.
Meanwhile, tea production in Kenya, a global leader in black tea exports, has suffered due to insufficient rainfall, particularly in Kericho, Nandi, and Nyamira.
The Tea Board’s report noted that modest precipitation and cloudy conditions in early 2025 led to a decline from 222 million kilograms in 2024’s first four months.
Despite a 19% rise in tea exports in Q1 2024, the 2025 shortfall may strain markets like Pakistan and Egypt, which consume 40% of Kenya’s tea.
The Tea Board projects a modest full-year decline, with irrigation schemes in Homa Bay and Busia offering some relief.
The move highlighted farmer opposition, noting a lack of consultation and fears of income losses during the sugar mill closures.
The move follows a 2023 milling ban that slashed production by 40% to 472,773 tonnes, per KNBS, and raised retail sugar prices to KSh 157 per kilogram in January 2025.
Analyst @MwangoCapital warned of further price hikes, while government initiatives, including a KSh 600 million investment in high-yield cane varieties and leasing four state-owned mills, aim to revive the sector.
As Kenya navigates a 67% youth unemployment crisis and political unrest, these agricultural challenges show the urgent need for sustainable reforms to stabilise the sugar and tea industries.
