Let’s Raise Sugar Output

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

28 June 2011

Tanzania is facing a deficit of 400,000 tonnes of sugar. The information was released during the 32nd Conference of the World Association of Beet and Cane growers in Dar es Salaam on Monday.

Such a shortfall has been attributed to low production capacities of local industries and sugarcane farmers, necessitating the imports of the commodity and spending hard-earned foreign currencies.

The country could have earned forex from exporting surplus sugar if production was high. Sadly that is not the case and recently the government authorised the importation of about 50,000 tonnes worth $45 million to ease the shortfall and stabilise retail and wholesale prices in the domestic market.

Although the Tanzania Sugar Board (TSB) hopes that production will increase substantially in the coming years, concrete plans must be made to make that a reality.

Supporting and building the capacity of small-scale growers will not only boost production of sugarcane but also increase farmers’ incomes as well as supplies of the raw material to large-scale sugar companies, which despite having sugarcane plantations, their combined output is lower than the demand because raw material supplies are inadequate.

Indeed, it is high time relevant bodies such as the TSB and the Tanzania Sugarcane Growers Association exploited the opportunity offered by large-scale consumers of cane.By so doing farmers will be assured of the market of their sugarcane, increase incomes and reduce poverty.

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