A section of the Mumias Sugar Factory. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Chief executive Nashon Aseka says other operations to continue running.
- The miller has for the last six months been struggling to sustain operations amid a biting shortage of raw material in its catchment area.
- The crisis at the Mumias factory has been worsened by lack of funds to pay farmers' outstanding arrears amounting to more than Sh600 million.
Mumias Sugar Company has temporarily stopped crushing of cane due to shortage of raw material.
The
company’s Chief Executive Officer Nashon Aseka on Monday said only the
sugar production line at the factory had been affected but other
operations including; ethanol production and agricultural services were
still on.
The miller has for the last six months been
struggling to sustain operations amid a biting shortage of raw material
in its catchment area.
Other millers from the region
are grappling with a similar shortage of cane triggering vicious
competition for raw material in the sugar zone.
Lack of funds
The crisis at
the Mumias factory has been worsened by lack of funds to pay farmers'
outstanding arrears amounting to more than Sh600 million.
“We
have been forced to temporarily shut down operations because it is no
longer economically viable to continue crushing with a limited supply of
cane,” said Mr Aseka.
The miller has been taking up to
two weeks to collect 6,000 tonnes of cane for crushing but the supply
has recently dwindled further affecting milling of sugar.
“We
need to have 4,000 tonnes of cane daily at least three times a week to
be able to operate optimally and for our operations to be economical,”
said Mr Aseka.
The entry of rival millers has complicated matters as the scramble for raw material intensifies.
Poaching
Mr
Aseka blamed rival millers for poaching cane from contracted farmers
due to lack of proper regulations to deal with "errant" players in the
industry.
“The biggest challenge we are still facing is lack of funds to pay farmers for cane delivered.
The
rival millers have taken advantage and harvesting cane from our
contracted farmers with promises of paying them within days of
delivery,” said Mr Aseka.
Mumias Sugar management has
asked the Sugar Directorate to come up with regulations to punish
millers violating the law by engaging in cane poaching in the region.
“We
are finding it difficult to continue investing in cane development and
then end up making huge losses after rival millers harvest the cane,”
said Mr Aseka.
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