Browsing: EAC sugar trade

• Tanzania sugar shortage is sparking unrelenting hike in prices.
• The government of Tanzania has approved the import of over 100,000 tonnes of sugar.
• President Samia has pledged to increase sugar production by 2025.

A biting sugar shortage in Tanzania is causing the price of the commodity to skyrocket over the last few months. On the one hand, the sugar shortage is blamed on heavy rains at the end of last year while on the other hand, there are allegations of hoarding and price setting by industry cartels.

With little to no evidence of the latter, the speculations remain just that, mere allegations. However, what is undisputed is sugar shortage and the attendant surge in prices for the sweetener.

Sugar shortage in Tanzania has persisted for almost an entire year now. So profound is the problem that President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan was forced to issue a public statement explaining the …

Out of 55 countries in Africa, 33 are engaged in sugar production. There are 16 sugar factories in Kenya, of which only 12 are operational. The government owns five of these while seven are privately owned making up a sector that collectively supports more than eight million Kenyans. 

This sector has a high potential, but continues to take serious beating from various factors that stifle it. The country produces about 600,000 tonnes a year, but it is not enough for local consumption, a situation that has pushed Betty Maina, the Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade and Enterprise Development to announce plans to import 90,000 tonnes of sugar from Uganda to bridge the deficit, the reason why the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has called for the revival of the sugar industry.…