Rwanda has overtaken Kenya as the largest market for Uganda’s sugar exports within the East African Community (EAC).
According to recent data from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Rwanda accounted for 35.3% or 39.3 metric tonnes (MT) of the 111.1 MT of sugar Uganda exported to the EAC between January and September 2024. This development comes as Uganda’s sugar exports to Kenya have plummeted since July, significantly impacting the trade between the two countries. Jim Kabeho, chairman of the Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association, confirmed, “We have not been exporting to Kenya since July this year,” during a conversation with The East African.
Rwanda, which relies heavily on imported sugar to bridge its domestic supply gap, has increased its imports from Uganda to stabilize local sugar prices. In June 2024, sugar prices in Kigali hit a record high of US$1.47 per kilogram, but as of early October, prices had dropped to between US$0.88 and US$0.95 per kilogram, largely due to increased supply from Uganda.
Rwanda’s sugar production is constrained by limited land availability and few investments in sugarcane farming, as many farmers prefer growing crops like maize, rice, and vegetables in marshlands.
Consequently, Rwanda has turned to neighboring Uganda to meet its sugar demands. In contrast, Kenya’s sugar imports from Uganda have sharply declined, with only 18 MT imported during the first nine months of 2024, accounting for 16.2% of Uganda’s total exports.
Tanzania has now become the second-largest market for Uganda’s sugar while Kenya has dropped to third place.
Uganda’s Industry Minister David Bahati attributed the drop in sugar exports to Kenya to frequent policy changes, including restrictive permits and export bans.
Bahati indicated that Uganda is seeking a long-term solution through value addition, moving from the export of raw brown sugar to producing refined sugar for the beverage industry and ethanol for biofuel and green energy production. He also revealed plans to allow power generated by sugar millers to be connected to Uganda’s national grid.
In late September, Kenyan authorities reversed their earlier decision to block Uganda’s sugar exports.
Andrew Karanja, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, clarified that sugar imports from the EAC and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are permitted, while imports from outside these blocs remain banned to protect Kenya’s domestic sugar industry.
