Sugar Development Council Tackles Challenges, Boosts Production

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) is working to remove obstacles hindering local sugar production in Nigeria.

According to Kamar Bakrin, Executive Secretary/CEO of the NSDC, the council is committed to supporting operators in the Backward Integration Programme (BIP).

During a recent tripartite meeting with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and major BIP operators, Bakrin highlighted several concerns raised by operators. These include loopholes in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) regime, equipment clearing delays at ports, sugar smuggling, and resistance from host communities.

The NSDC is addressing these issues through various means, including amending the NSDC Act to close loopholes in the FTZ regime. The council is also working with the Nigeria Customs Service to resolve equipment clearing delays at ports and has engaged security agencies to tackle sugar smuggling.

Bakrin emphasized the importance of improving performance, warning that underperformance would attract serious consequences.

He noted that basic improvements in agronomics and factory practices could increase annual raw sugar production to 200,000 metric tonnes in the short term.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, chaired the meeting and assured that the ministry would intensify its oversight of BIP operators to ensure compliance with the objectives of the National Sugar Master Plan.

Enoh also announced that raw sugar importation quotas would be allocated based on performance going forward.

The NSDC is working to secure financing to support the industry and help existing operators reduce irrigation costs.

Bakrin stressed that cultivating and processing sugarcane locally is more sustainable and beneficial in the long run than relying on raw sugar importation and refining.