HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 125664,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/125664/?format=api",
"text_counter": 195,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Samoei",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Agriculture",
"speaker": {
"id": 204,
"legal_name": "William Samoei Ruto",
"slug": "william-ruto"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, an issue has been raised about our sugar companies closing around the same time for maintenance. This is a tradition that has existed for a while and we are addressing ourselves to it. We have tried to persuade some of the companies to extend their time so that they do not go into maintenance at the same time, but they told us that the machinery has a life span each year which they must meet. Therefore, it has become a very controversial issue. I admit that we need to do something about the closure of our sugar mills for maintenance so that we stagger the maintenance period and avoid experiencing instances of shortage of sugar. This year, the shortage was informed more by a court case which did not allow the COMESA sugar to come into the country. That court case has since been dealt with and ruled in favour of the Government. As the hon. Member has correctly put it, 20 companies were given rights to import sugar into the country. Unfortunately, only five have paid up and already 4,500 metric tonnes of sugar has arrived in Mombasa. We expect another 40,000 metric tonnes which has been sourced. However, we are short of another, 220,000 metric tonnes. We will carry out another auction on Monday, next week to get more players who have sugar to bring into the country. On the world market price of sugar being US$462, I do not think the figures add up to Kshs40 per kilogramme. The figures are much higher. In fact, the figures I have given here are Cost in Freight (CIF). You need to factor in insurance fees, clearing charges, transportations and other costs. We have recorded high price of sugar in the country which is unacceptable and we are looking at various avenues of bringing in additional sugar. This is because unless we have a structured arrangement, the consumers will continue to hurt. The price per a 50 kilogramme bag today is about Kshs4,200. That translates to Kshs100 or Kshs105 per kilogramme. We believe that if millers sell at Kshs2,800 or Kshs3,000, they should not only break even, but also make money. However, if they sell this at Kshs4,200, they are actually making a kill. So, we have two options which are either to put price controls or increase the supply of sugar in the country. As a Government, we do not believe in price controls. Therefore, the way to increase the supply of sugar, is to increase the suppliers of sugar both from the COMESA and--- I have said that if the COMESA sugar does not find its way into the country, the Government has requested the East African Community (EAC) to allow 60,000 metric tonnes of non-COMESA sugar, again, in a structured manner over the next six months. All imports of sugar, be they from the COMESA or non-COMESA are regulated by the KSB in a manner that does not hurt the local sugar production."
}