Nigeria’s import bill on raw sugar from Brazil has dropped by 67. 3 per cent from N997.5 billion ($665 million) to N325 billion ($217 million) between January and July 2024.
Findings by New Telegraph revealed that the drop was due to foreign exchange fluctuation, short supply and other constraints encountered by importers in the global market.
Nigeria imported only 311, 252 tonnes instead of 950,000 tonnes to support domestic consumption. Last year it took delivery of 1.93 million tonnes valued at $1.05 billion in 2023 from Brazil, The Netherlands and India.
The consignment is 16.14 per cent of the 1.93 million tonnes ordered from Brazil, The Netherlands and India valued at $1.2 billion for industrial and domestic use in 2024 as price of the commodity hits $700 per tonne.
In June, only $85 million of the commodity were ferried to the country’s ports from Brazil as Nigeria, which is the top importer of raw sugar from the country, has become the second importer after Canada.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s shipping data indicated that in June this year, a vessel, Desert Seeker berthed at Lagos Port Complex, Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) with 55,540 tonnes, Sea Diamond offloaded 49,000 tonnes in May 2024 at the Greenview (GNDL) Development Nigeria Limited, Lagos Port.
Also, in April, Genco Predator offloaded 46,650 tonnes in the same terminal while Desert Victory laden discharged 53,215 tonnes at Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) in April 2024.
Between January and March 2024 Desert Spring berthed at ABTL with 53,250 tonnes, while Bulk Bahamas and Helsinki Eagle offloaded 48,750 tonnes and 49, 000 tonnes at Greenview Nigeria Development Limited respectively.
Recalled that the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) had said that it would amend its Act to adequately support sectoral growth of sugar and instill confidence among investors as Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) said that it would commit over $700 million on sugar production under the Backward Integration Programme (BIP).
Also the company is planning to produce 700,000 metric tonnes of refined sugar from locally grown sugarcane in the next four years under the BIP.
The Chairman of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Aliko Dangote, said at the company’s 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, that the 700,000 metric tonnes would meet 50 per cent of the current market demand for refined sugar, adding that in alignment with the policy guidelines of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the company would focus on and enhance its BIP by deploying and reviewing project strategies to ensure efficient delivery.
According to him, the 10-year sugar development plan to produce 1.5 million tonnes of sugar per annum from locally grown sugarcane remains a roadmap to attaining the company’s objectives.
In 2023, the country imported $641.36 million worth of sugar from Brazil, while China took delivery of $1.69 billion and Algeria, $773 million in the same period.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government had said that investments ranging between $3 billion and $5 billion under Phase II of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) was being anticipated in 10 years.
This is after the first plan spanning 10 years yield – ed no result. The Executive Secretary of NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, explained that the initiative aligned with the President’s dedication to achieving the NSMP’s objectives of attaining self-sufficiency in sugar production, fostering job creation, and advancing industrialisation.
During a gathering of the Sugar Industry Monitoring Group in Abuja, the executive secretary noted that the plan was designed to achieve a minimum production capacity of 2 million tonnes of sugar, generating 400 MW of electricity and fostering the creation of 110,000 jobs throughout the entire value chain in the country.
Bakrin stressed that NSMP II necessitates between 200,000 and 250,000 hectares of suitable land and an estimated investment of $3.5 billion.