Sugar prices are expected to increase as government introduces new levies. Photo/courtesy.
Sugar prices expected to increase next month due to the introduction of a new levy. The consumers are expected to face higher sugar prices starting February 1, as a new tax on the sweetener comes into effect.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has officially gazetted the Sugar Development Levy Order, 2025. This legislation imposes a Sugar Development Levy (SDL) on both locally produced and imported sugar, set at 4% of the commodity’s value.
The gazettement of this levy follows three months after President William Ruto signed the Sugar Act 2024 into law. This Act grants the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary the authority to implement the levy.
“A levy is hereby imposed as outlined in Section 40 (1) of the Sugar Act, 2024. This levy is set at 4 per cent of the value of domestic sugar and 4 per cent of the CIF (Cost of Insurance and Freight) value for imported sugar,” stated Duale.
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Local sugar millers must remit this levy to the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB), the regulatory body recently reinstated under the Act. Additionally, the parastatal will directly collect the levy from sugar importers or their designated agents.
“The levy must be submitted to the board no later than the 10th day of the month following the month in which it becomes due,” he stated.
The sugar levy will fund the operations of the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB), the Kenya Sugar Research Institute, price stabilization initiatives for sugar farmers, and infrastructure development within the sector.
The allocations from the Sugar Development Levy are distributed as follows: 15 per cent for research, 40 per cent for improving cane productivity, 15 per cent for infrastructure development in sugarcane-producing regions, 10 per cent for Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) administration and 5 per cent for farmers’ organizations.
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