CAMEROON WILL NEED SUGAR IMPORTS TO MEET LOCAL DEMAND

Cameroon is expected to import sugar from Brazil and Congo Republic to bridge the supply –demand gap in the country.

Cameroon SUgar Cane

Cameroon will need to import close to 33000 tonnes of sugar from Brazil and Congo republic in order to close in on the sugar crisis that the country is presently into.
A representative from the government indicated on Thursday that this move which has come at a time when the people are concerned about increasing food and commodity prices may set off strife and conflicts in the country.

“Given the scarcity of sugar on the market, the Ministry of Trade has arranged for the importation of 25,000 tonnes of sugar from Brazil by mid-October to meet growing demand,” states the ministry in a news release.

“While waiting, the minister has authorized the sugar company SOSUCAM to import 8,000 tonnes from Congo Republic,” the statement said.

It is not just sugar prices but the prices of most other food items that in integral to the staple diet of the people of Cameroon have shown sharp hikes in the past few months in Cameroon and the government was forced to order a detailed and thorough investigation to find out of the prices were illegal and fraudulent. They also had to pacify consumer groups and resort to stringent measure to ward off protests.

The NYSE indicated a benchmark rate of 27.17 cents per lb during September which indicated that the world sugar price was at its highest ever rates since January this year. When the markets closed on Thursday the prices were at 24.60 cents which is close to the all time high.

These high prices were probably what led to almost 13 of the country top sugar sellers to close up for selling the commodity at fraudulent prices as well as for not adhering to the fixed price laws of the country.

SOSUCAM, Cameroons state owned sugar seller is in a tussle trying their best to peak production by 120000 tonnes  to meet the estimated yearly local demand of 200000 tonnes.

Forzi Sugar Company Ltd, a privately owned sugar retailer has indicated its plans to construct a 60,000-tonne-per-year plant  to bridge the wide gap but the project has not even commenced.