Sugar producers warned over indicative prices lobbying

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government has warned sugar producers to refrain from lobbying for increases in indicative prices

Agriculture minister Hussein Bashe issued the warning on January 26 during the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of an office building in Dodoma belonging to the National Irrigation Commission (NIRC).

He urged sugar producers to visit the ministry's office and table their arguments, as their problems will not be resolved through lobbying.

Mr Bashe said that only four people could instruct him to remove the indicative price, and warned dealers to avoid taking advantage of the current pricing system and price stability.

The Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) announced an indicative price at retail price costing between Sh2,800 and Sh3,200 per kilo in response to the skyrocketing prices of sugar, which have gone up to between Sh4,000 and Sh5,000 per kilo.

Tanzania has been facing sugar shortage due to production disruptions caused by ongoing rains in different regions of the country, and the government has said that the country did not achieve its sugar production target last year due to adverse weather conditions.

 Mr Bashe has assured producers that the government will continue to protect the sugar industry due to its importance in the country’s economy, but not at the expense of the Tanzanian people.

He said that the government provides tax incentives to protect the sector, including imported sugar, for the benefit of the final consumer and to protect the country’s economy.

He cautioned producers against lobbying parliamentarians, saying that he will stand alone for what he believes in.

Lastly, he said that his ministry would continue monitoring and assessing the trend of rains through the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) and the damage evaluation report in the farms to prevent imports that will kill the domestic market.

 He also assured producers that an assistance aimed to eliminate unloading delay will be done through the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), insisting that the government’s target was to ensure all permitted tonnes of sugar arrive in the country by the end of February this year.