KENYA – Kenya’s Angata Sugar Mills is preparing to sell a 40 percent stake in the company to Savannah Crest KE Limited in a deal valued at KES500 million (US$3.88M).
The transaction, which is expected to be finalized by December 2024, follows approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya, which determined that the deal would not affect market competition.
Angata Sugar Mills, currently owned by Firethorn Holding Limited and iCreate Investment Holding Limited, is in the midst of developing a new sugar milling plant in Moyoi, Transmara.
The KES 4.35 billion (US$33.8 million) facility, scheduled to begin production in September 2025, will span approximately 200 acres and is part of a broader effort to meet the rising demand for sugar in Kenya.
The factory will handle both the processing of sugarcane into raw sugar and the refining of raw sugar into final products.
This expansion is part of a larger trend, with over KES15 billion (US$116.28M) in new investments allocated for greenfield projects, existing factory expansions, and the development of sugarcane plantations in Kenya.
This comes as the sugar pricing committee in Kenya comes under fire from stakeholders for reducing the price of sugarcane-based on the retail price of sugar.
Francis Wangara, Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Sugarcane Plantation and Allied Workers (KUSPAW) argued that the reduced pricing would negatively impact farmers.
In a notice issued by acting Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) director Jude Chesire, the price for cane per ton for August is set at KES4,950 (US$38.37).
Chesire explained that this pricing follows the expiration of the interim cane pricing committee and the absence of a cabinet secretary to appoint a new one.
Wangara argued that the decrease in sugar prices in the market is due to illegal sugar imports.
“The cost of sugar has gone down because of illegal sugar in circulation,” he said, asserting that it is unfair to lower the cost of cane based on these market prices.
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