Trade Minister shows the retail packets now ready for the shops
* Malawi is a sugar exporter but last year production was seriously affected by Cyclone Freddy that led to scarcity of sugar in the country since December
* Salima sugar has started its cycle today and we are flooding the market with sugar at normal prices and people will not scramble for the commodity anymore
By Lekereni Chinkhota, MANA
As one way of dealing with scarcity and exorbitant prices of sugar in the country, Salima Sugar Company Limited has opened its 2024 sugar production season to provide Malawians with sugar through their depots that will be opened across the country.
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Speaking during the opening of the season at Salima Sugar factory in Salima on Tuesday, Minister of Trade & Industry, Sosten Gwengwe said the commencement of sugar production at the factory will help fix shortage of sugar in markets and stabilise prices.
“Malawi is a sugar exporter but last year production was seriously affected by Cyclone Freddy that led to scarcity of sugar in the country since December. Salima sugar has started its cycle today and we are flooding the market with sugar at normal prices and people will not scramble for the commodity anymore,” he said.
For Malawi to be economically mature, Gwengwe said it needs to focus on production than trading, adding that it is important for Malawi to escalate production using commercial agriculture which will align to pillar two of MW2063 national vision in order to spur economic growth.
Executive Chairman for Salima Sugar Company Limited, Wester Kosamu said the company has already embarked on a number of activities to ensure that Salima sugar is available on the market.
“We have already earmarked 1,000 hectares of land which we plan to plant cane,” he said. “We are also planning to expand the milling to be producing more sugar as our sugar has been scarce on the market.
“We advertised for distributorship and we have signed contracts with distributors that will be selling our sugar across the country.”
Kosamu said the company plans to collaborate with over 250 small scale farmers that are managing cane around the factory and give the idle land the company has to other small scale farmers willing to work with the company with each farmer expected to get two hectares of the land.
Last week, Kosamu assured that Malawians should expect benefit from its product unlike in the past, saying they “are changing how business was run, to produce a commodity that will be available across the country and should be well known on the market”.
This was pledged at the company’s premises during the official handover of a small-scale farm to Salima Sugar Company as an operator and the signing of a management agreement between the company and Lingadzi Cooperative in the district.
It was revealed that Salima Sugar Ltd has recruited 2,500 seasonal workers to necessitate smooth operation when it commences production of sugar on April after closing in November 2023.
Kosamu, who is Greenbelt Authority Board chairperson, said at the moment the company has been undergoing reformatory processes after termination of its contract with Aum Sugar Co. Ltd.
Kosamu said they have issued distributorship licenses to eligible business people to start distribution of the commodity soon after production commences.
He added that in the past there was widespread concerns about availability of sugar produced in Salima on the market, therefore they have taken strategic steps to ensure that once production commences the commodity would be available across the country.
“Distributorship contracts are a key strategy aimed at ensuring that the country has a sufficient supply of sugar and effectively addressing the ongoing sugar crisis,” he had said.
“We anticipate more than 200 small-scale sugarcane farmers under Lingadzi Cooperative to get more profits from their farming activities based on the fact that they will now have the opportunity to negotiate the sale prices of their sugarcane with the company.”
Salima Sugar Company has opened its first ever depot at Siyasiya Trading in Salima, where it plans to sell its sugar to people around the factory before spreading across the country.
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