Sugar: No import in 2024
By Stephen TADAHA
Cameroon will not import sugar in 2024 but there is an imperative need to regularize the sugar market in the country.
These are the major recommendations from a concertation and orientation meeting between trade officials and heads of agglomerations in the sugar refinery sector that was presided over by the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana on Thursday, November 23, 2023, in Yaoundé.
The meeting was aimed at examining market needs and supply perspectives for the year 2024.
It was revealed during the meeting that Cameroon already imported 280,000 tons of sugar in 2023 for a local demand of 225,000 tons. Taking into consideration the surplus from imports, local production which stands at 86 500 tons, and the available stock at the start of the year, the provisional stock at the end of the year will be above 135 000 tons.
Moreover, the Cameroon Sugar company SOSUCAM has announced a provisional production of 100,000 tons of sugar during a special campaign to broaden its harvest area and do some renovation work that will improve productivity.
The sugar market in the country has been negatively affected by an increase in the price of sugar on the international market notably in the course of the second semester of the year thus impacting import allocations.
To satisfy local demand for sugar which has been on the rise, Minister Luc Magloire Atangana recommended that the heads of agglomerations work in collaboration and in transparency. He also mentioned the need to regularize the sugar market with the aim of ensuring that the basic necessities are affordable for every Cameroonian.
