Tanzania moves to end sugar shortage

Dodoma, Tanzania | Xinhua | Tanzanian authorities on Tuesday announced measures they were taking to end the shortage of sugar in the East African nation.

Kenneth Bengesi, the director general of state-run Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT), said the measures included the expansion of sugar factories, mobilization of farmers to grow sugarcane and attracting investors in the sugar industry.

“These measures aim at increasing sugar production from the current 380,000 tons annually to 756,000 tons annually by 2025,” Bengesi told a news conference in the capital Dodoma.

He said current sugar demand in Tanzania stood at 440,000 tons annually, adding that there was a shortage of 60,000 tons annually.

Bengesi said the target of producing 756,000 tons of sugar by 2025 will satisfy local demand and the surplus will be exported abroad.

He said SBT was currently overseeing the expansion of sugar factories in the country, adding that the newly launched sugar factory in Bagamoyo district in Coast region will also help boost production.

Bengesi said plans were also underway to establish factories for producing industrial sugar which is currently being imported from overseas.

“Currently 205,000 tons of industrial sugar are imported annually at 150 million U.S. dollars,” he said.