Kinyara Sugar Limited (KSL) formally Kinyara Sugar Works Limited (KSWL), is a sugar manufacturer in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Location

The main factories of the company are located in the town of Kinyara in

Masindi District Masindi District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Masindi, the location of the district headquarters. Location Masindi District ...

in Uganda's Western Region. Kinyara is approximately , by road, west of

Masindi Masindi is a town in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is on the road between Kampala and the Murchison Falls National Park. It is the site of the headquarters of the Masindi District. Location Masindi is approximately ...

, the nearest large town and the location of the district headquarters. This location is approximately , by road, north-west of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The coordinates of the company factory are 1°38'14.0"N, 31°36'30.0"E (Latitude: 1.637222; Longitude:31.608333).

Overview

KSL is the second-largest manufacturer of sugar in Uganda, producing an estimated 110,000 metric tonnes annually, accounting for approximately 31 percent of national output. According to a 2011 published report, the estimated 350,000 metric tonnes of sugar produced by the four leading sugar manufacturers in Uganda are marketed to the East African countries of

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and Uganda.

History

In 1955, the Omukama of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Tito Owinyi was given land by the Bunyoro Native Government. He opened a Jaggery factory in Kinyara, where the current factory is located. Owinyi began production of molasses in 1959, selling it to the Lango, Acholi and West Nile districts. The whole of northern Uganda relied on this product from Kinyara for their alcohol brewing and the sweetening of other products. In the late 1960s, the

government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...

asked the Omukama of Bunyoro to partner with him and the Kingdom of Bunyoro. He convinced the Orukurato (Parliament) of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom to allow the government to expand the factory and the plantation. The central government and Bunyoro Kingdom agreed and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the central government and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, requiring the central government to pay 30 percent to Bunyoro Kingdom and the Omukama of Bunyoro. This relationship continued until 1966 when the kingdom was abolished, but the factory continued to run. During the political and economic turmoil in Uganda in the 1970s and 1980s, Kinyara was adversely affected and production of sugar ceased. In the 1990s, KSWL was rehabilitated by Booker Tate Limited with aid and loan agreements for various funders underwritten by the Ugandan government. Sugar production resumed in 1995. Following the resumption and stabilization of sugar production, the government sold 51 percent shareholding in Kinyara Sugar Limited to the then ''Rai Group'' (today:

Sarrai Group The Sarrai Group of Companies, commonly referred to as the Sarrai Group, is a privately owned Conglomerate (business), conglomerate in East Africa and Southern Africa. The group maintains its headquarters in Kampala, Uganda, with subsidiaries ...

), an agribusiness conglomerate. In September 2011, the Uganda government sold a further 19 percent shareholding in KSL to the Rai Group for US$9.1 million in cash. The sales agreement called for the Rai Group to float this shareholding in an IPO on the Uganda Securities Exchange after five years. Previous agreements called for the sale of the remaining 30 percent shareholding to the following entities: 10 percent to the

Omukama of Bunyoro Omukama wa Bunyoro (translates to the King of Bunyoro) is the title given to rulers of the East African kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. The kingdom lasted as an independent state from the 16th to the 19th century. The Omukama of Bunyoro remains an ...

, 10 percent to the KSWL outgrowers, and 10 percent to KSL employees. That process was ongoing as of September 2011.

Production outlook

In September 2011, the Rai Group, who owned 70 percent of the company shares, signed commitments to invest US$55 million in the factory within three years, increase production to at least 200,000 metric tonnes annually within the same time period, and use the baggase to generate 35 megawatts of electricity, of which 22 megawatts were to be sold to the national grid.

Industrial sugar

In February 2022, KSL commissioned a production line that manufactures ''industrial sugar'', used in the manufacture of soft drinks, confectioneries, pharmaceuticals and other industrial processes. KSL is capable of producing 60,000 metric tones of industrial sugar annually, starting with 70,000 metric tonnes of brown sugar. At that time Uganda's demand for industrial sugar ranged between 78,000 and 90,000 metric tomes annually.

Subsidiaries

KSL is the sole owner of the Kinyara Power Station, a 14.5 megawatt

bagasse Bagasse ( ) is the dry pulpy fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel for the production of heat, energy, and electricity, and in the manufacture of pulp and building ...

-fired thermal electrical plant that, as of July 2013, was in the process of expanding power production capacity to 40 megawatts by 2015.

References

External links

Uganda's Total Annual Sugar Production To Hit 350,000 Metric Tonnes In 2011

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinyara_Sugar_Limited Sarrai Group Sugar companies of Uganda Food and drink companies established in 1969 Masindi District Western Region, Uganda Ugandan brands