Sugar shortage hits Coast region amid crackdown

A shopper at a supermarket. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Consumers in some parts of the Coast region are experiencing sugar shortage as shopkeepers avoid stocking the commodity over fear of arrest.

This follows an intensified crackdown on contraband sugar in the region.

In Tana River County, all the main wholesalers have run out of the commodity with only one outlet selling its last bags of Chemelil sugar acquired months ago.

According to Mulki wholesalers in Hola, Tana River County, sugar became scarce a few days after the crackdown on contraband sugar began.

Ahmed Malik, a trader, told Nation that dealers in the county were no longer sure about what to sell as it seemed that the sugar they have been getting is illegal.

"This sugar we have been selling maybe was not genuine because it has just disappeared all of a sudden, and this is just days after the crackdown began. We are out of business, "he said Tuesday.

Lamu officials display contraband sugar that was seized in the county. PHOTO | KALUME KAZUNGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP LTD

However, according to Tana River Deputy County Commissioner Michael Kioni, the scarcity is artificial due to fear from traders who were now hiding sugar while awaiting the right opportunity or selling it secretly.

"This contraband sugar is still hidden somewhere, but we will find it anyway. It cannot just disappear in a day, we know it is being sold secretly...We will find the place," he said today.

Last week, police seized 100 bags of contraband sugar worth more than Sh500,000 in Lamu.

A spot check by the Nation in major towns in Lamu County including Mpeketoni, Lamu Island, Witu, Kiunga and Kizingitini, revealed that the shortage has forced some locals to use sweets in their tea.

Many shop owners in the county, both wholesalers and retailers, have refused declined to stock sugar in their stores for fear of being seized as contraband.

The shortage has caused prices to spike such that a kilo of sugar which retailed at between Sh90 to Sh100 is now being sold at between Sh200 and Sh250.