Sugar retailers have been fleecing customers by increasing prices arbitrarily and hoarding supplies, a parliamentary committee has said.

"The manifestation of the sugar shortage has created wealth of opportunities for the unscrupulous retailers to seize it to exorbitantly increase sugar prices to reap profits from the consumers. The prices were stated by millers to be beyond their recommended levels," says a report by the Agriculture committee.

The MPs said the essential commodity should be sold at less than Sh130 per kilo, down from the current Sh190.

Recommended price

"The recommended price per kilo for the retail markets be placed at a maximum of Sh130 after the millers estimated this was the indicative price level locally and in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region."

The report was ordered by Speaker Kenneth Marende following a question by Molo MP Joseph Kiuna. It was tabled in the House on Wednesday for debate.

The committee wants millers to indicate prices on the packs to stop traders from "exploiting Kenyans."

Last year, the country produced 376,112 tonnes of sugar against a demand of 772,731 tonnes.

The shortage was blamed on drought in 2009/10, declining stocks, harvesting of under-age cane, inefficient operation due to old mills at the factories and reduced acreage for sugarcane farming due to land sub-divisions.

The MPs pointed out that factories should schedule their annual routine maintenance timelines to avoid a repeat of this year's fiasco that saw all millers shut down at the same time.

"This was noted to be ill-advised on the part of the millers to create sudden drop in the release of sugar into the supply chain."

The team wants the ministries of Finance and Agriculture to speed up privatisation of millers to increase their efficiencies.

The MPs called for investment in irrigation in arid and semi arid lands to increase acreage and to move away from raid-fed farming which is susceptible to changing weather patterns.

The report wants the government to subsidise cane farming to boost production and fund research for early maturing and high yielding sugar varieties.Comesa bloc sugar

Sugar millers, the report says, should be licensed to import a maximum of 275,000 tonnes of duty free sugar from outside the Comesa bloc.

The licence, it says, should be pegged on the miller's annual capacity.

The committee arrived at the quantity after taking into account monthly consumption estimated at 65,000 tonnes.

The committee warned that factories were harvesting immature cane aged between 13-15 months, instead of 18-24 months, resulting in low quality sugar.

The report also warns that land under cane in Mumias Sugar had reduced from 67,000 hectares to 58,000 hectares due to sub-division to build homesteads.

The committee is chaired by Naivasha MP John Mututho, and comprises Mr Lucas Chepkitonyi, Mr John Pesa, Mr Benson Mbai, Mr Erastus Mureithi, Mr Evans Akula, Mr Victor Munyaka, Mr Mohamed Sirat, Mr Benjamin Washiali, Mr Robert Monda and Mr Fred Outa.