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Keeping you up to date with what is happening in manufacturing and distribution, in Kenya and across East Africa.

Thursday, 15 October 2026

1 story
A petrol station in Voi with motorbikes and a matatu on the forecourtFuel

Fuel prices rise from 15 October: petrol up Sh12.93

EPRA has raised the maximum price of petrol by Sh12.93, diesel by Sh9.90 and kerosene by Sh28.49 a litre in Nairobi until 14 November, with VAT still at 8%.

Tuesday, 13 October 2026

2 stories
Two electric vehicle charging plugs on a charging stationIndustry

Kenya signs US$3bn plan to build electric vehicles locally

The government has signed a memorandum with Endelevu Enterprise Corporation, partnered with Geely, for plants to assemble 50,000 electric cars and 100,000 two-wheelers a year.

Soda crust on Lake Magadi with workers and the soda works train in the distanceIndustry

Magadi soda ash mine still shut as Tata warns 500 jobs at risk

Tata Chemicals Magadi has told the court its suspended mine puts over 500 jobs and a Sh3.62 billion expansion at risk, as its fight with the Mining ministry goes on.

Saturday, 10 October 2026

1 story
Container lorries driving on a highway in KenyaTrade

Kenya and Uganda admit border trade fixes are still not done

Trade officials from both countries met in Kampala this week and said agreed measures to ease trade are moving too slowly. Uganda says its trade deficit with Kenya reached US$592.3 million in six months.

Friday, 9 October 2026

2 stories
A spoon resting in a heap of white granulated sugarSugar

Manufacturers take 433% industrial sugar duty rise to court

The excise duty on imported industrial sugar went from Ksh 7.50 to Ksh 40 a kilo in July. Manufacturers say it could add Ksh 6 billion a year to their costs.

Rows of fruit moving along a steel processing line in a food factoryFood

Food makers want more crops processed in Kenya before export

At FoodPro East Africa in Nairobi, the Industry PS and manufacturers called for adding value to farm produce locally, with lower taxes, simpler rules and steadier policies.

Thursday, 8 October 2026

4 stories
The Nairobi Expressway winding between the city's office towersMoney

Central Bank holds rate at 8.75% as milk, wheat and oil prices rise

The Central Bank kept its lending rate unchanged on 7 October. Core prices rose on milk, wheat products and cooking oil, and bank lending to business is growing again.

A single plastic bag drifting underwater beneath the surface of the seaPlastics

NEMA seizes 90,695 banned plastic bags in Njiru factory raid

Five people, including the owner, were arrested at a facility making banned bags in Nairobi. NEMA calls it part of a nationwide crackdown on making, selling and using them.

Ripe golden ears of wheat close up in warm evening lightPrices

World wheat, sugar and cooking oil prices rose again in September

The UN's food price index rose 1.5% in September. Cereals were 17.2% dearer than a year ago, and sugar and vegetable oils were up too - the raw materials of millers, bakers and oil packers.

A black and white Holstein dairy cow against a pale blue skyDairy

Milk deliveries to processors fall 5.8% in the dry spell

Processors are paying farmers Sh55 to Sh60 a litre as supply drops, the Agriculture CS says. Kenya will also import most of its maize from Tanzania.

Tuesday, 6 October 2026

5 stories
Refinery towers and red-and-white chimneys against a clear skyIndustry

Work starts on Dangote’s refinery in Lamu

The 700,000-barrel-a-day plant broke ground on 30 September and is meant to make materials for plastics and rubber as well as fuel. A land case is heard on 14 October.

A grey printing calculator on a pale yellow deskMoney

Bank loan rates in August ran from 10.5% to 18.7%

The average bank lending rate eased to 14.34% in August, but what each bank charged ranged by more than eight percentage points.

Rows of solar panels across a flat roofPower

Unilever’s Nairobi factory now runs 30% on solar

An 800kW rooftop system cost Ksh 70 million and saves about Ksh 30 million a year, the company says. On those figures it pays for itself in under two and a half years.

Red and green plastic crates stacked high, half in sunlight and half in shadowBusiness

Orders picked up in September, and so did prices

Kenya’s monthly survey of private businesses rose to 51.3, its joint-best since January, as new orders grew. Costs for fuel, transport and farm produce kept rising.

A yellow diesel generator on bare ground beside stacks of steel reinforcing barsPower

World Bank: power and water costs hold Kenyan firms back

A new World Bank Group report puts Kenya’s power tariff among the region’s highest. In its 2025 survey, three in four firms reported outages and six in ten had a generator.

Monday, 5 October 2026

3 stories
A fuel pump nozzle resting in its holder at a petrol stationFuel

Fuel’s 8% VAT is due to end on 14 October

The cut that took VAT on petrol and diesel from 16% to 8% runs out the day EPRA sets November’s prices. Here is how much of every litre it is worth.

An electricity transmission pylon against an evening sky in KampalaPower

Electricity surcharges fell in September

The extra charges EPRA adds to every unit of power came to Ksh 4.16 per kWh for September, down from Ksh 4.70 in August. Rooftop solar rules changed too.

Oranges, bananas and avocados piled on tables at an open-air marketPrices

Prices rose 6.8% in September, led by transport

Inflation edged up from 6.6% in August, with transport costs 15.6% higher than a year ago. The Central Bank has since kept its lending rate at 8.75%.

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