Largest sugar manufacturers in Uganda

Uganda’s sugar industry has emerged as one of East Africa’s most strategic agro-industrial sectors, driven by the country’s largest sugar manufacturers.

Once dependent on imports, Uganda now produces a surplus, with national output reaching about 822,000 metric tonnes in 2022 and excess volumes exported across the region.

Based on late 2025 reports, Uganda’s annual sugar production has reached approximately 700,000 metric tons. The industry has experienced significant growth, with roughly 450,000 tons consumed domestically and 250,000 tons exported.

Major producers such as Kakira Sugar Works, Kinyara Sugar Works and SCOUL have expanded capacity, invested in power generation and ethanol, and built vertically integrated operations.

Beyond sugar, the industry supports tens of thousands of jobs, sustains outgrower farmer networks, and feeds into downstream activities such as ethanol production and cogeneration of electricity from bagasse.

Yet growth has not come without friction. Regional trade restrictions, infrastructure bottlenecks, and periodic oversupply continue to test the sector’s resilience.

Still, with fresh investments, rising industrial sugar demand, and renewed government support for agro-industrialization, Uganda’s biggest sugar manufacturers are positioning themselves not just as local producers, but as regional champions in one of Africa’s most competitive commodity markets.

Shore Africa takes a close look at how these ten companies are shaping Uganda’s sugar industry, driving production growth, exports, and agro-industrial transformation across the country.

1. Kakira Sugar Works Limited
Uganda’s largest sugar producer, Kakira Sugar Works commands about 41 percent market share, with annual output near 180,000 metric tonnes. Part of the Madhvani Group, the company is a leader in brown sugar production and cogeneration, supplying power to the national grid. Kakira consistently produces the highest volume of sugar in the country, accounting for roughly 40-50% of the total national output. Located in Jinja, it is a key subsidiary of the Madhvani Group and has been in operation since the 1930s.

2. Kinyara Sugar Works Limited
Producing over 120,000 metric tonnes annually, Kinyara is a major force in industrial sugar. Backed by the Rai Group, it has expanded into ethanol and power generation, positioning itself as a diversified agro-industrial business with strong regional reach.

3. Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL)
Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) is a premier, vertically integrated agro-industrial company which was established in 1924 by Nanji Kalidas Mehta and is based in Lugazi. As the third-largest sugar manufacturer in Uganda (producing about 60,000–100,000 tonnes annually), it is owned by the Mehta Group and the Ugandan government. SCOUL operates over 30,000 acres of cane plantations, supports thousands of outgrowers, and produces sugar, ethanol, and electricity.
Based in Lugazi, SCOUL produces about 73,500 metric tonnes annually. One of Uganda’s oldest sugar estates, it plays a critical role in employment and outgrower farming while steadily modernizing its milling and energy operations.

4. Sugar & Allied Industries Limited
A mid-sized but influential producer, Sugar & Allied Industries turns out roughly 29,500 metric tonnes per year. The company focuses on domestic supply while gradually expanding its footprint in industrial and bulk sugar segments.

5. GM Sugar Uganda Limited
GM Sugar has built a reputation for producing white industrial sugar alongside brown sugar. Its strategic focus on refined products has made it an important supplier to beverage and food manufacturers across Uganda.

6. Mayuge Sugar Industries
Mayuge Sugar Industries Limited (MSIL) is a fast-growing player serving both domestic and export markets. With ongoing capacity upgrades, the company is positioning itself as a competitive supplier within East Africa’s increasingly integrated sugar trade. Mayuge Sugar, based in Uganda and part of the MP Group, is a rapidly expanding, integrated manufacturer established in 2005 with a 3,500 TCD plant. It serves domestic and East African markets, with significant exports to South Sudan, DR Congo, and Kenya. The firm features a 9.2 MW co-generation power plant and produces Nile Sugar.

7. Atiak Sugar Factory
Located in Northern Uganda, Atiak Sugar has a crushing capacity of about 1,650 tonnes of cane per day. The factory is seen as a catalyst for post-conflict economic development in the region. Atiak Sugar Factory is a 1,650 tons of cane per day (TCD) sugar plant in Amuru District, Northern Uganda, commissioned in October 2020 to boost regional economic recovery. A public-private partnership between Horyal Investments and the Uganda Development Corporation (41% stake), it focuses on empowering local, especially women, farmers.

8. Kaliro Sugar Limited
Part of the Modern Group, Kaliro Sugar is central to the conglomerate’s expansion strategy. The company has ambitious plans to scale production, strengthening the group’s grip on Uganda’s sugar supply.

9. Kidera Sugar Limited
Also owned by the Modern Group, Kidera Sugar contributes a growing share of national output. Its integration into the group’s logistics and farming network supports aggressive capacity expansion.

10. Kassanda Sugar Factory
Asian business tycoon Ashish Monpara, known as the ‘King of Sugar’ and proprietor of Modern Group, acquired Abid Alam’s $40 million Kassanda factory in a deal finalized in October 2025. Now acquired by Mompara’s Modern Group, Kassanda Sugar is undergoing significant investment and plans to invest $250 million to boost the facility’s production capacity from 1,500 to 5,500 metric tonnes per day. Once fully optimized, it is expected to boost the group’s production scale and reinforce Uganda’s export surplus.