Kenya has ordered a three-month shutdown of all sugar milling operations in the Upper and Lower Western regions, beginning 14 July, after a Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) review found an acute shortage of mature cane. The directive covers Mumias Sugar (2021) Ltd, Nzoia Sugar Company, Butali Sugar Mills, Busia Sugar Industry and West Kenya Sugar Company’s Olepito and Naitiri units. Acting KSB chief executive Jude Chesire said inadequate cane development had forced factories to harvest immature crops, depressing yields and output in the first half of 2025. During the closure the board will conduct a cane census and require millers to ramp up planting to restore raw-material supply before production resumes. The suspension coincides with the introduction of a 4% Sugar Development Levy, in force since 1 July, which is expected to raise more than KSh 5 billion a year for cane development, road rehabilitation in sugar zones, research and factory modernisation. Officials say the combined measures aim to stabilise production and phase out sugar imports by 2027.