Low sugar production in Nigeria remains the major problem because, for domestic usage, the country has to rely on the importation. Nigeria will import 1.89 million metric tonnes of sugar in 2020. This volume of sugar imports will cost the country around NGN 193.5 billion. According to the reports, the domestic sugar production in the country is estimated at 80,000 tonnes, and so far since January 2019, it has imported 1.87 million tonnes of sugar.
Now, the country aims to reduce sugar import and instead want to increase local production. National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) Executive Secretary, Dr Latif Busari belives decrease in sugar importation and hike in domestic production will save the country’s $56 million in foreign exchange annually.
To improve the domestic sugar production, Busari aid that the vital players in the country’s sugar industry would receive all support to uplit the sector. He expressed that the government’s commitment to render more assistance will help the country to achieve sufficient industrial and domestic use of sugar.
According to Busari, Golden Sugar Company, BUA International Group, and Dangote Sugar Industry are the three major operators in the industry, and they account for around 99.8 per cent of sugar in the country. The government’s Sugar Plan, which started in 2013, aims to achieve a local sugar production level of about 1.7 million metric tonnes by 2023.
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