Government, through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, has intervened to halt sugar factories in Busoga from offering low prices for sugarcane, setting a minimum price of Shs 125,000 per ton.
The move comes after complaints from sugarcane out-growers who reported being paid as low as Shs 90,000 per ton.
Officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council, and six sugar millers in the region—Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL), Kakira Sugar, GM Sugar, Kamuli Sugar, Mayuge Sugar, and Bugiri Sugar—agreed on the new minimum price during a meeting on Friday, 19th December 2025, held at the ministry offices.
While chairing the meeting, Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Francis Mwebesa, said government had received numerous complaints about “arbitrary low sugarcane prices which directly impact farmer livelihoods, mill supply stability, and social and political stability in sugarcane-growing areas.”
Minister Mwebesa specifically flagged concerns regarding GM Sugar, Kaliro Sugar, Bugiri Sugar, and Kamuli Sugar, where farmers claimed that the prices offered were below the formula stipulated under the Sugar Amendment Act 2025.
He also raised objections to a 5 percent “trash deduction” still being charged by some millers, despite the Sugar Council removing the deduction.
“Government recognizes that if farmers earn low returns relative to input and transport costs, long-term production, investment, and sector resilience are at risk,” Mwebesa said. He added that the government had tasked millers to explain why they were reducing prices during a critical political period, warning that such actions could affect support for the ruling NRM party.
Minister of State for Cooperatives and Bulamogi North West MP, Hon. Frederick Ngobi Gume, urged millers with low pricing to revise their rates for two months while the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council reviews nationwide sugarcane pricing. “This move will ensure social and political stability in Busoga, especially during the current political period,” Gume said.
GM Sugar’s Henry Kata told the meeting that fluctuating prices were due to production costs and other factors outside the pricing formula. “Although the Sugar Amendment Act of 2025 provides a formula for sugarcane pricing, our costs of production differ, and therefore, we cannot offer the same prices to farmers,” Kata explained.
Former Minister and Chairperson of the National Biofuels Committee, Daudi Migereko, urged millers to cooperate, emphasizing that the government had long worked with sugar factories to ensure sector stability.
“We have always considered you as our partners in development, and that is why we request a revision of your prices while the Sugar Council looks into the matter,” Migereko said.
The sugar millers, including Akash of GM Sugar, Yogesh Agri, and Ismail Nasifu of Kamuli Sugar, unanimously agreed to set the minimum price at Shs 125,000 per ton for two months, pending review by the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council.
Rajbir Singh Rai, Chairperson of the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council and representative of Kinyara Sugar, called on all sugar millers to comply with the new law, stressing that adherence to the pricing formula would create harmony in the sector.
With the government’s intervention, sugarcane farmers in Busoga can now expect stable pricing for the immediate future, ensuring both economic security for households and a more predictable sugar supply chain for millers.
