Sugar price to drop further

According to the East African Gazette produced early last month by the East African Council of Ministers, Uganda’s industrialists were allowed to import the largest amount of refined sugar at subsidized duty totaling to over 324, 555 tons followed by Kenya with 19, 700 tons, Burundi 1, 701 tons and Rwanda 23.4 tons. In total, the four countries would record 345, 979.4 tons as white sugar imports from outside East Africa.

“The Council of Ministers has approved the following manufacturers to import the specified quantities of raw materials at the specified duty rate under the Duty Remission Scheme,” Al Hajj Kirunda Kivejinja, the chairman of the Council of Ministers wrote.

Some of the 15 Ugandan companies under this arrangement include Century Bottling Company Ltd, Britannia Allied Industries, Nile Breweries and Uganda Breweries. In Kenya, eight companies are benefiting from this move. Some of the companies include Excel Chemicals Limited, Patco Industries Limited and Highlands Mineral Water Limited among others. In Rwanda only one company, Nyanza Milk Industries Limited was granted permission while Burundi also had one company – Burundi Brewery given the incentive.

Patrick Oyuru, the director sales and marketing at Coca-Cola, told The Independent that the imports they record for the white sugar support their industrial activity and that EAC producers have no capacity to supply the quantities needed to them. “We note that this importation is well regulated,” Oyuru, whose company is importing 22, 165 tons said, adding they continue to engage the local producers on the possibility of having a refinery for white sugar in Uganda.

Mwine Jim Kabeho from USMA said that local producers in Uganda would need to increase production by one million tonnes to be able to meet the demand from the likes of Coca-Cola in addition to building a high-tech refinery which no other EAC country has at the moment apart from Kenya that is eying one in the near future.

The average white sugar price index for 2017 quoted in London was US$432.10 per tonne; the highest was US$ 556.25 and the lowest was US$359.05.