Let market forces determine sugar imports: Wassira

Dodoma. Sugar imports will continue to bridge the gap between demand and supply, Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives minister Stephen Wassira says. Yesterday, He chided those agitating for a halt in sugar imports, saying “they are ignorant of the market forces and tricks” of the commodity.

Requesting the National Assembly to endorse Sh353.14 billion for his ministry during the 2015/2016 financial year, Mr Wassira said Tanzania produces an average of 300,000 tonnes of sugar for domestic use annually.

The country’s demand stands at 420,000 tonnes of sugar for domestic consumption plus other 170,000 tonnes of sugar for industrial use yearly.

“If we stop importing sugar prices will rise. When that happens, politicians will go around the country telling wananchi that the ruling party has raised sugar prices to collect money for campaigns during the October polls,” he said.

While acknowledging that the industry faces challenges of sugar smuggling, sale of the commodity meant for transit as well as industrial sugar being sold to consumers, he said some of the arguments against import licences of the product were sheer propaganda.

He said when local producers complained about imports, claiming that they were closing up shop, he invited all the four producers — Kilombero, TPC Limited, Mtibwa Sugar and Kagera Sugar — to a discussion.

“I asked each company about the quantity of sugar in its warehouses….By that time, Kilombero and TPC had some quantities that were not enough for local consumption….Mtibwa Sugar said it did not have even a single tonne of sugar during that time while Kegera had only 5,000 tonnes but the noise was so high that some quarters within the country probably believed that the country was out to strangle local producers,” said Mr Wassira, who also doubles as the Bunda MP.

However, he said the government was taking measures to deal with some of the challenges in the industry.

Transit sugar is now being escorted by the Tanzania Revenue Authority and other state organisations until it enters the importing country while routine checks are conducted in a number of areas that have been identified to be entry points for smuggled items.

He said the Sugar Board of Tanzania issued licences to 25 companies to import a total of 100,000 tonnes of the commodity during the financial year ending June 2015. Of the quantity, 88,940.25 tonnes will be directly imported while other 11,059.75 tonnes of transit sugar will be taxed so it can be sold within the country.

Debating Mr Wassira’s budget proposals, some MPs said it was a shame that the country was killing its own industries by allowing sugar imports thereby discouraging job creation by local producers.

“Mr Chairman, in Kilimbero, for example, the investor refused to buy sugarcane from local farmers because the investor has failed to sell his sugar – which has been stockpiled in his factory – because sugar imports have destroyed the local market,” said Mr Meshack Opulukwa, the shadow minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives.

Mr Opulukwa is also the Meatu MP on the Chadema ticket.

Ms Magdalena Sakaya (CUF - Special Seats) echoed similar sentiments: “Mr Chairman, I need the government to tell me why it is allowing sugar imports while we have enough of the product in our country….I find it difficult to understand why could the government be so inconsiderate to its people who are losing jobs as they fail to compete with imports,” said Ms Sakaya who doubles as the opposition party’s deputy secretary general for Tanzania Mainland.

The debate yesterday also dwelt on issues pertaining to how Tanzanian farmers are being duped by buyers on the issue of prices of cash crops like tobacco cashew nuts, cotton, coffee, tea, sisal and cloves.

Some MPs, especially those from Morogoro Region called on the government to consider setting the headquarters of the Tanzania Agriculture Development Bank – which is slated to open for business on July 1, 2015 – in Morogoro or in any other region that is famous for farming.

But in response, Mr Wassira said the bank will be headquartered in Dar es Salaam but it would later extend its services to the rest of the country.