The Nigerian government is encouraging both local and international investors to explore the country’s $2 billion sugar market, highlighting a major opportunity to boost local production. This appeal was made by Kamar Bakrin, Executive Secretary and CEO of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), who emphasized Nigeria’s high annual sugar consumption, which stands at around 1.4 to 1.6 million metric tonnes.
Bakrin said that investment was undertaken to reduce Nigeria’s heavy dependence on sugar importation from Brazil, which supplies up to 96% of its sugar needs. Nigeria’s sugar market is a lucrative investment opportunity for investors, especially as demand for domestic production grows-he said.
Bakrin also added that because of fluctuations in the currencies that make imports expensive as well as where the price of dollars is increasing, becoming costlier day after day for importing and importation, it gives an additional value to domestic production on economic terms. “The economics are compelling,” Bakrin said, referencing strong potential returns on investment and financing options aligned with business goals.
This self-reliance initiative has been supplemented by policies and incentives initiated by the government through the BIP to encourage local sugar production. NSDC introduced the model of community integration through which it made compulsory investments of the sugar operators in various development projects in the areas of their operation such as building schools, clinics, and roads and provision of management posts to local persons.
“This model ensures that communities benefit, making the industry more secure and sustainable,” Bakrin said.
Looking beyond Nigeria, the NSDC is eyeing the $7 billion African sugar market while aiming to boost the Nigerian economy with high-value byproducts like ethanol, bioplastics, and packaging materials.
To drive expansion, the NSDC has designated 2025 as “the year of acceleration” and plans to secure funding to support both domestic and global investors in the Nigerian sugar industry. In 2022, the federal government extended the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) for another decade, setting a goal to reach annual sugar production of 1.7 to 1.8 million metric tonnes by 2033, which would eliminate the $350 million currently spent on imports each year.
By 2033, the NSMP is expected to create 110,000 jobs, marking a major step toward self-sufficiency and economic growth in Nigeria’s sugar sector.
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