Kenya dissolves Comesa sugar barriers after 24 years

sugar imports

Workers offload bags of sugar from a ship at the Port of Mombasa.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Kenya has opened its sugar subsector to cheaper imports from the Comesa region after dropping its push for a further extension of protectionist measures that have been in place for more than two decades.

The policy shift follows objections by some Comesa member states in October 2025 to prolonging tariff safeguards for Kenya’s sugar industry.