The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has revealed that sudden change or increase in sugar prices in the country is caused by the increase in foreign exchange.
Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NSDC, Mr Zacch Adedeji stated that “as long as we depend on importation of raw sugar for our refining purposes, the prices of sugar will remain unstable.
“If the major producers import materials at an exchange rate of N350 today and import the same materials for an exchange rate of N500, of course, they are business people, they will want to recover their money.”
Adedeji said the Council has considered the challenges facing the sugar sector in the country and is working tirelessly to ensure that the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) of the Sugar Master Plan become very effective for the actualisation of the Nigerian self-sufficiency in sugar production.
He explained that BIP has the capacity to create over 50,000 jobs and also grow enough sugar cane to end any kind of sugar importation thereby creating a stable pricing regime.
“Over 90 per cent of sugar production in the country is dependent on forex because of importation of raw sugar,” the ES lamented.
Although Adedeji noted that despite the challenges of funding, access to land and lack of technical manpower ” we have come up with a plan to effectively push for field production that will boost the local production of sugar cane.”
He said the Council is also focusing on the out-growers scheme as a means of supporting sugar cane farmers and boosting capacity towards attending self-sufficiency in production.
The ES also revealed that the country needed 288 million hectares of land for sugar cane cultivation to be able of meet the demand of 1.7 million tons in Nigeria.
“We need the collaboration of state governors in sugar-producing areas to be able to access such vast land”.
He said when the country reaches self-sufficiency, over $5 million reserves will be saved within five years.
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