Tanzania’s leading sugar producers, under the Tanzania Sugar Producers Association (TSPA), announced significant expansion projects aimed at meeting local sugar demand and generating a surplus by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The TSPA, comprising Kilombero Sugar Company Limited, Bagamoyo Sugar Limited, Kagera Sugar Limited, TPC Limited, and Mtibwa Sugar Estate Limited, emphasized that the ongoing expansion of their facilities and sugarcane farms will boost sugar production.
In a press statement, the TSPA outlined the current status of sugar production and detailed key projects designed to address the persistent sugar shortage that has driven up prices and strained local supply.
Currently, local sugar producers supply 93% of the country’s annual demand of 490,000 tonnes. Local production reached 460,200 tonnes in 2023, up from about 300,000 tonnes in 2015, thanks to collaboration between the firms and the government to protect local investment and curb irregular sugar imports.
The TSPA highlighted that a favourable investment climate has enabled local investors to inject more capital into expanding their operations.
“Due to the government’s deliberate efforts to protect local sugar industries and sugar cane growers over the past three years, local industries are now undertaking intensive expansion in sugarcane growing and processing to mitigate the sugar shortage by the end of the 2024/25 financial year,” the TSPA statement read.
