Monday, May 22, 2023 – As Kenyans continue to wrap their mind around the sudden sharp rise of sugar prices in the country that is causing havoc to the hustler nation, retailers have come out to explain the increase.
They listed unexpected sugar shortages as one of the reasons for price hikes that saw a two-kilogram packet of the commodity rise from Sh300 to Sh415 and Sh470 in one week.
Reports indicated that retailers currently purchase a 50-Kg bag of sugar at Ksh4,250 – from the initial price of Ksh3,300.
The retailers pass the extra cost to the consumer forcing Kenyans to dig deeper into their pockets to purchase amid the high cost of living.
Further, the Sugar Directorate’s weekly records of sugar stock fell by 80 per cent – where 4,000 tonnes are denoted against a required optimum of 20,000 tonnes needed to sustain the daily demand in the country.
In an earlier press interview, Jude Chesire, Director of the Sugar Directorate, noted that the deficit was caused by the low production at the factory level despite the government waiving off-duty imports for the commodity in December 2022.
Chesire added that the cost of the commodity had not gone down despite the importation of duty-free sugar because of the import’s exorbitant price owing to the global shortage and the weak shilling.
The increase in sugar prices came even as President William Ruto had assured the country that the prices of sugar will start coming down after the importation of 100,000 metric tonnes of brown or white sugar on duty-free status.
But, despite the attempts of the Kenya-Kwanza administration, the sugar commodity rose by 56 per cent in over a week’s period – with many Kenyans expressing their displeasure over the sharp spike.
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 Comments