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Smuggling of sugarcane affecting pricing-Malawi Sugarcane Growers Body

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Sugarcane Growers Association of Malawi (Sugam) believes that increasing sugarcane smuggling and low prices on the international market are the main reason the product is fetching low price on the market.

Sugam is convinced that these main challenges are the reasons that point to the declining of prices offered by the lone sugarcane buyer, Illovo Sugar Malawi PLC.

Sugam chairperson, Frighton Njolomole said Illovo (Plc) indicated that the decline comes following low prices being offered on the international market and heavy smuggling of sugarcane into the country.

The statistics indicate that in 2018 milling season sugarcane for farmers in Dwangwa fetched up to K302,000 per tonne of sugar which has drastically reduced in 2019 milling season up to K235,000.

“During the 2018 milling season, the final price of sugar offered to the smallholder growers in Dwangwa was at K302,290.00 per tonne of sugar while the projected final price for the 2019 milling season was at K235,658.00 per tonne of sugar.

“This implies that the prices of sugar will drop by almost K66,663.00 per tonne which is equivalent to 22 per cent and this is despite the prices of other inputs such as labour, fertilizers and chemicals keeping on rising,” he said.

Njolomole, therefore, called on the government to intervene on prices and other government departments to tighten border security so that there is a complete halt to the smuggling of sugar into the country.

“Government should intervene in this crisis and assist smallholder farmers in reviewing the prices and where possible the lowest price should remain the provisional price which farmers were receiving during the 2019 milling season,” Njolomole added.

In his reaction, the spokesperson in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mayeso Msokera said the government is currently in the process of reviewing concerns raised by the Sugam secretariat and that investigations involving all parties will be conducted.

“We have received formal communication from the Sugam secretariat on some challenges affecting the sugarcane industry. Further investigations involving all parties will be carried out soon to gather more information and find lasting solutions on the matter,” Msokera said.

Sugam has about 8000 members based in Chikwawa and Nkhotakota.

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