Cane producing areas to get 15pc of key sugar levy in new legislation
The new Sugar Act 2022 which has been assented to by President William Ruto on Friday will see sugarcane producing areas allotted 15pc of the Sugar Development Levy collected from native and imported sugar.
The funds to be allotted on a pro-rate foundation primarily based on manufacturing capability will go in direction of infrastructural growth and upkeep of sugar sector within the areas.
The new act prescribes the institution of the Sugar Development Levy which is to be levied on home sugar and retained in a Sugar Development Fund that’s administered by the Kenya Sugar Board.
The Levy is capped at 4pc of the worth of home sugar and 4pc of the Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) worth of imported sugar.
Additionally, 15pc of the levy collected has been allotted for manufacturing facility growth and rehabilitation, one other 15pc in direction of analysis by the Kenya Sugar Research and Training Institute and 40pc in direction of cane growth and productiveness enhancement.
The Kenya Sugar Board which has been reintroduced below the brand new act will likely be allocate 15pc of the levy for administration functions whereas the remaining 5pc will likely be allotted to sugarcane farmers’ organizations to assist additional their programs and run their actions.
The board which assumes the mandate at the moment held by the Sugar Directorate of the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) will likely be chargeable for regulating, creating and selling sugar trade and co-ordinating the actions of people and organizations throughout the trade and participate in coverage formulation and implementation, set up linkages with authorities companies and analysis establishments.
The board will even facilitate the sale, import and export of native sugar, advise native sugar growers, regulate pricing of sugar, license sugar mills and conduct native and worldwide market surveillance.
Under the brand new legislation, the 14-member board includes a non-executive chairperson, 5 representatives elected by growers within the counties clustered below the Central, Upper Western, Lower Western, Southern, and Coastal sugar catchment areas, two representatives every from each personal and public-owned sugar mills, the principal secretary for agriculture, a consultant of the Council of County Governors, the Principal Secretary for National Treasury, and a chief government officer who’s an ex-officio.
The Board is to serve for a time period of three years which is renewable as soon as.
The act is predicted to assist Kenya tackle challenges which have confronted the sugar sector since 2013 amongst them elevated price of sugar manufacturing, shrinking acreage of land below sugar cultivation, lack of markets, failure to manage imports and exports of sugar, poor administration of sugar firms and lack of analysis and cane growth initiatives.
According to newest knowledge from the Sugar Directorate, complete sugar manufacturing in months of the yr to September grew by 65pc to 615,499 metric tonnes from 374,119 recorded final yr.
