The Republic of Malawi is going to start importing sugar produced in Mozambique in order to deal with the crisis in the country. To this end, the government has issued 20 licences to local companies, and also plans to import sugar from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Brazil.
According to a publication by Rádio Moçambique, the liberalisation of the sugar market in Malawi comes at a time when the two local production companies have reduced their capacity in the face of some of the challenges posed by climate change.
“Since last January, the country has been facing a sharp crisis due to a lack of sugar on the market. The situation has led to a worsening and speculation in the price of the product, where a kilogram has skyrocketed from the old 1700 kwachas (64 meticals) to 3000 kwachas (115 meticals),” described the media organisation.
Faced with this situation, the Malawian Minister of Industry and Trade, Sosten Gwengwe, explained that the government was forced to liberalise the market as a way of increasing supply and reducing the price of the product for consumers.
“Even in the face of the two production companies that had a monopoly on the market, the government is not going to change its decision, because we want to make the market more competitive,” he argued.
According to the leader, so far seven shops have been closed down for overcharging on sugar prices.
In January, the country’s sugar producers assured that the production stoppage at Maragra Açúcar was not affecting market supply, guaranteeing that there was enough “stock” to meet domestic and export needs.
“There is no shortage of sugar on the market, there is more than enough product. Although Maragra Açúcar is of great importance, there are other producers such as the Xinavane and Mafambisse factories, which are still committed to supplying the market at all levels,” said the executive director of the Mozambican Sugar Producers Association, Orlando da Conceição.
Maragra Açúcar is located in the district of Manhiça, 80 kilometres north of Maputo province, and produces 80,000 tonnes of sugar a year from more than 460,000 tonnes of sugar cane, also grown on its properties. It is 99 per cent owned by Ilovo, a South African group present in six southern African countries, and 1 per cent by another investor.
