Ayodele Abioye, acting managing director of BUA Foods has stated that the government’s plan to impose the sugar tax on companies would impact the sugar production of the company, reports local media.
The government had last week announced a new tax to lower the excessive sugar consumption in beverages.
Speaking at a programme organised by the Nigerian Exchange Group on Tuesday, Abioye said that the imposition of a sugar tax will affect our customers that are depending on our products which will ultimately affect us. The market is underserved, we believe, he said.
Abioye said, “The informal market is supplying about 300,000 tonnes of sugar through unregistered mills as per the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). We have to tap this opportunity and this can be tapped only when we increase our production.”
“Sugar is widely used for various products and we can tap the $400 million market by selling it,” he further added.
Sugar contributes 63% of the total revenues of the company, said Abdul Rasheed Olayiwola, Chief Financial Officer of BUA Foods.
