He claimed that shutting operations will lead to a loss of 30,000 jobs of workers and Sh2 billion per month in loss of revenue to the National Treasury.
Kenya Sugarcane Growers Association (Kesga) secretary- general Richard Ogendo faulted the Sugar Pricing Committee for deriving the sugarcane pricing formula from gross sugar prices at the factory level.
It is unfair. Some of the companies also extract products like ethanol, biogas, electricity, briskets and fertiliser, he said.
Kenya Association of Sugar and Allied Products chairman Charles Atyang challenged the formula, saying it failed to protect the interests of cane farmers and jeopardised the stability of the local sugar industry.
The Committee also failed to take into account that the farmers production costs have been on the rise, he stated in his affidavit.
Mr Ogendo accused the millers of manipulating the gross prices of sugar to underpay farmers for their deliveries.
The millers should provide their cost of production in order for the Agriculture and Food Authority to come up with a fair pricing for the benefit of all the players, he said.
He also called on the government to operationalise cane testing units to pay farmers based on sucrose content as opposed to weight.
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