The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) says Nigeria targets more than two million metric tonnes of annual sugar production through 13 projects.

The executive secretary of the council, Kamar Bakrin, disclosed this at a news conference organised for the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) in Abuja.

He said the projects comprised three existing operators and 10 proposed new sugar estates across eight states.

“Together, if you look at it, we are talking about 13 projects, the three incumbents plus 10 new projects.

“They will take Nigeria past the two million metric tonnes that we are talking about,” he said.

Mr Bakrin said Nigeria consumed about 1.8 million metric tonnes of sugar annually, with more than 97 per cent refined from imported raw sugar.

He said the country’s two operating mills produced about 27,000 tonnes in the previous season.

According to him, the three existing operators are targeting 1.2 million metric tonnes annually, while the 10 proposed projects are expected to produce 835,000 tonnes at full capacity.

He said the council had validated 1.2 million hectares of suitable land for sugar production, compared with the 250,000 hectares required for national self-sufficiency.

Mr Bakrin said the new estates would produce sugar, ethanol and electricity to diversify revenue and improve project viability.

He added that the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme was targeting 11,000 hectares of farmer-grown sugarcane around existing mills.

The programme is expected to produce about 880,000 tonnes of sugarcane annually, with 7,000 hectares already identified with partners in Kwara, Niger and Adamawa states.

“The economics have changed; economic reforms have altered the previous cost advantage of importing sugar over producing it locally.

“The programme is expected to save Nigeria about 2.1 billion dollars annually in foreign exchange when fully implemented,” he said.

Mr Bakrin added that the programme would create about 110,000 direct and indirect jobs and support more than one million livelihoods across the value chain. 

(NAN)