East African Business Week

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - In a bid to contain a critical sugar shortage in the country, the Government has called on for local and international firms to help import 100,000 tonnes of sugar.
The Government has instructed interested companies to submit their applications to import duty free sugar for the fiscal year ending 30th June 2012 to cater for 100,000tonnes current deficit of sugar.
The shortage of the commodity has caused the price of sugar to rise by over 50 %, causing untold hardships to people and industries that use sugar as an important ingredient. Whilst only a few weeks ago sugar was retailing at Tshs 1700 (US$1.04) in Dar es Salaam city, it is now selling at Tshs 2,500 ($1.55) per kilogramme.
Mohammed Muya, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, however, told The East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam that the duty free sugar to be imported would be sold in Tanzania only for direct consumption of people, not for industrial uses.
"The Government would also introduce measures to ensure that the imported sugar is not re-exported to neighboring countries, which are also suffer sugar shortages," said Mr. Muya.
"Sugar has recently been scarce in some East African countries which had also made prices to rise exorbitantly in the respective markets. In Kenya, one kg of sugar has reached about US$2.6, while in Uganda it is at US$2.3 per kg," he added.
Mr. Muya said the Government expects that with the importation of 100,000 tonnes of sugar, and a ban on exports of the commodity, retail prices would come down in the local market to US$0.80 per kg.