Government intervenes in industrial sugar controversy

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage,

What you need to know:

This paper yesterday published a report on the back-and-forth saga involving consignments imported by several beverage producers, prompting senior government officials to direct the Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) to take urgent measures to have the cargo cleared.

Dar es Salaam. Progress has been made in efforts to clear thousands of tonnes of industrial sugar held up at Dar es Salaam Port for two weeks, The Citizen has learnt.

This paper yesterday published a report on the back-and-forth saga involving consignments imported by several beverage producers, prompting senior government officials to direct the Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) to take urgent measures to have the cargo cleared.

“I have just been informed by one of importers, who happens to be our member, that the government has intervened in the matter and everything will be sorted out soon,” Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) acting director of policy and advocacy Akida Mnyenyelwa told The Citizen yesterday.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage, attributed the delay to the government’s intention to establish that the imported sugar was indeed meant for industrial use.

“The problem with importers is that some of them import sugar for domestic use under the guise of industrial sugar…we had to satisfy ourselves first before issuing clearance,” he told The Citizen on the sidelines of a symposium at the University of Dar es Salaam’s Business School yesterday.

Beverage manufacturers in the country import about 170,000 tonnes of industrial sugar annually.

Most of the sugar for domestic use consumed in Tanzania is produced by four manufacturers, namely Mtibwa, Kilombero, Kagera and TPC.

The four factories produce about 300,000 tonnes annually against demand of 420,000 tonnes, which translates into a shortfall of 120,000 tonnes.

Yesterday, The Citizen reported that several thousand tonnes of industrial sugar imported by Dar es Salaam-based Coca-Cola Kwanza, Bonite Bottlers of Kilimanjaro Region and Mwanza-based Nyanza Bottlers had been held up at Dar es Salaam Port for about two weeks, pending clearance by the relevant authorities.

The sugar includes 1,450 and 650 tonnes imported by Nyanza Bottling and Bonite Bottlers, respectively.

There were fears that beverage manufacturers could be forced to temporarily halt production if the matter was not resolved soon.