DAR ES SALAAM, March 21 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — THE Industry, Trade and Investment Sectoral Committee of the East African Community (EAC), is expected to decide on the Tanzanian emergency request to import at least 80,000 tonnes of sugar to ease the existing shortage.

The Director General of the Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT), Mr Mathew Kombe told ?Daily News? that although the country was in dire need for sugar, it was important that all the procedures in accordance to the Eastern African Customs Management Act of 2004 were fulfilled.

?The process to import sugar is at advanced stage, we have already finalized our local procedures here, but we can?t do anything until other partners in the region agree according to the law,? he noted.

At least 23 private companies have already qualified for the importation of the commodity and if all goes well, the commodity might be in the country within two to four months from now, he said.

Mr Kombe admitted that the sugar price in the local market was skyrocketing, adding that the board?s recent study had revealed that one kilogramme was now sold at between 1,700/- to 1,800/-. from 1,600/- last January. He said unfriendly weather contributed to poor cane production for the past three seasons.

?It is inevitable to sell it for a higher price because wholesalers would always increase the price automatically, forcing us to do the same to survive,? one retailer noted during a survey.

Earlier, Mr Kombe was reported to say that the commodity?s price in the world market had also increased to 700 US Dollars per metric tonnes, from between 250 and 400 US Dollars some three years ago, thus affecting local markets.

?Reasons behind are that Brazil as the main producer and India as the main importer are now faced with production shortfalls associated with changing weather patterns,? he said.

But at home, he added, local producers were also unable to satisfy the country?s demand, because of having strategic plans like expansion schemes that are projected to cost them a lot of resources, affecting their production goals.

The country?s sugar demand annually is more than 330,000 tones, while all four industries namely TPC, Kilombero Sugar , Kagera Sugar and Mtibwa Sugar companies produced about 279,000 tonnes last year. The situation for industrial sugar is still stable, with reports predicting the rise in consumption from 70,000 last year to around 115,000 tonnes this year. — NNN-DAILYNEWS

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