Mumias Sugar Company’s net loss has widened to Sh. 6.77 billion in the year ending June.
The loss increased by 42 per cent from the previous year. Mumias registered an after-tax loss of Sh. 6.77 billion in the period under review, compared with Sh. 4.75 billion loss registered in the previous year.
It attributed the losses to an acute shortage of sugarcane that saw production of the sweetener drop by 67 per cent.
“The major challenge faced by the company throughout the year was the acute shortage of sugarcane experienced in the region,” said the board chairman Kennedy Ngumbau in a statement.
According to the firm, total cane crushed was 407,008 tonnes compared with 1.2 million tonnes in the previous year.
“As a result, a lower production of 15,891 tonnes of sugar was achieved compared with 75,073 tonnes produced in the previous year,” he said.