Muhoroni and Chemelil Sugar companies have temporarily shut down operations amid an acute shortage of mature sugarcane and operational challenges that continue to plague the struggling sugar sector. 

This comes as tensions rise across the industry, with farmers, suppliers, and regulators raising alarms over declining performance and financial instability among the state-owned millers. 

Speaking during a sugar millers’ stakeholders’ meeting in Kisumu, Muhoroni Sugar Company’s Receiver Manager, Harun Kirui, confirmed the decision to suspend milling operations, attributing it to the lack of mature cane and the need for urgent factory maintenance. 

“We have had to halt milling operations due to a shortage of mature cane. Additionally, our factory is overdue for maintenance, so we plan to undertake some mini-maintenance during this downtime,” he told the Business Hub.

“The ongoing heavy rains have further complicated matters, particularly with cane transportation,” he explained. 

Kirui noted that Muhoroni has allocated Sh50 million for the maintenance exercise, which he termed essential to restore the factory to optimal functionality, as they expect to receive the funds from the Exchequer at any time. 

Despite the challenges, including a lack of immediate support from the government, he expressed hope that financial assistance would soon materialise to make them run the industry smoothly. 

“Although we haven’t received support from the government yet, we remain hopeful that the funds will come through soon. Once maintenance is completed, we expect to resume milling at our full capacity of 2,200 tonnes of cane per day.”  

The miller, which had been operating at only half of its installed capacity due to dwindling cane supplies, was reportedly accumulating cane for up to five days before processing — a practice Kirui said was no longer sustainable. 

“We expect to resume in June. Our installed capacity is 2,200 tonnes of cane per day, but by the time we stopped milling operations, we were milling at around 50 per cent of our installed capacity,” he explained.  

However, Chemelil acting Managing Director, Peter Kolum, declined to address the press on the developments, shrugging off questions sent to him amid growing scrutiny over the company’s performance. 

Kolum’s silence comes at a time when pressure is mounting from cane farmers, suppliers, and creditors, many of whom have not been paid for months. 

Criticism of his leadership has also intensified as Chemelil struggles with operational inefficiencies and delayed payments, adding to frustrations in an industry already reeling from supply chain disruptions and governance issues. 

The crisis, as discussed during the Kisumu meeting with the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB), has reached alarming levels, with the industry players and Kisumu County leaders, led by Governor Prof Anyang Nyong’o, calling for prudent management.  

Cane poaching by desperate millers, harvesting of immature cane, and zonal encroachments have all emerged as key threats to the sustainability of the sugar value chain, with KSB put on the spot to play an active role in regulation. 

The board has since directed all millers to retreat to their designated zones — Central, Upper, and Lower Eastern — to address poaching concerns and restore order in cane sourcing.

Regulatory Director, Samwel Kemboi, yesterday underscored the urgency of the situation and called for adherence to zoning agreements to protect farmers’ livelihoods and ensure equitable competition among millers. 

As the sugar belt stares down an uncertain future, stakeholders are now calling for urgent reforms, government intervention, and stronger oversight to rescue an industry teetering on the edge. 

KSB chairman Nicholas Gumbo asked the industry management to sort out their issues amicably so that the sector can run smoothly, saying there was no need for the factories to work in conflict while each can keep to the zonal agreements. 

“Let us work with the scheduled restrictions as the KSB law posits and ensure that there is harmony in running the sugar mills,’’ he said. KSB acting CEO Jude Chesire promised to follow up on the agreed principles by the millers. 

“We will follow up with meetings to ensure that millers comply with the resolutions and the new directives,’’ explained Chesire as cane farmers called for sanity in the management of sugar affairs, asking the players to be fair.