Nairobi, Aug. 20 -- The average retail price of sugar in Kenya rose for a fourth consecutive month in July 2026, defying expectations of a drop because production of the commodity rose by more than a third in the first half of the year.

Domestic sugar output rose 35.2 percent to 437,852 tonnes between January and June, the highest first-half production according to data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Cane deliveries increased even faster, climbing 36.2 percent to 4.93 million tonnes, pointing to a recovery in raw material supplies to sugar factories after a steep slump last year.

However, average retail sugar prices have been rising since April, increasing from Sh164.35 per kilogramme that month to Sh167.41 in July,...