The announcement was made yesterday in Dar es Salaam by Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister, Stephen Wassira when he met with the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Water.

 

“Currently there is only 67,000 tonnes of sugar in the country… this stock will run out by the end of this month,” the minister said and warned that ‘…if no importation is done, the country will run out of supplies by April.”

 

With that announcement, the minister authorised importation of 88,940.25 tonnes and also permitted   the domestic use of some 11,059.73 tonnes of transit sugar currently stored in various bonded warehouses.

 

It is worth noting that this development comes despite recent claims by domestic sugar producers that they have stock piles of the product.

 

However according to Minister Wassira, until February 11 this year Kilombero Sugar Company Ltd had only 17,000 tonnes of sugar in its warehouses while, TPC sugar had 20,000 tonnes and Kagera Sugar Limited (KSL), 3000 tonnes while Mtibwa Sugar Estates Ltd apparently had nothing in its stores.

 

“We expect at least 27,000 tonnes to be produced domestically by the end of March increasing domestic supplies to 67,000 tonnes that can last until the end of this month (March)” Wassira told the Committee.

 

“Since the available sugar is only enough to be used up to the end of March and also because of the fact that these sugar producers will take a break for general maintenance from April to May, there is need to import 100,000 tonnes to be used between April and June when the firms resume manufacturing,” Wassira went on to explain.

 

The minister attributed the said shortage to low production, failure by a number of sugar firms to keep reserves and closure by others to wait for the next production season after the rain season.

 

He nonetheless admitted that the limited production was also in part occasioned by low sugar prices driven down by illegal imports.

 

Minster Wassira went on to explain that the country’s annual demand for sugar stands at 420,000 metric tonnes but domestic firms produced only 300,000 metric tonnes during the 2013/14FY and hence the shortage of 120,000 metric tonnes.

 

“Following the privatisation of sugar industries of Kagera, Mtibwa, Kilombero and TPC between 1998 and 2000, the production of sugar has increased from 98,000 tonnes in 1998 to 300,000 during 2013/14,” he said citing that production was expected to increase further to 420,000 tonnes by 2015/16.

 

The minister further explained that his announcement is based on a decision reached during a meeting with sugar stakeholders (date, location and attendance not specified in press briefing).

 

However, a stakeholders meeting to that effect was held back in December 22, 2014 in which one of the remedial measures the government endorsed was a bulk sugar importation entity by sugar producers.

 

He said the meeting resolved for sugar to be imported in bulk by a consortium that includes sugar manufacturers and businesspersons. It was also agreed that the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) should impose taxes on the imported sugar in accordance to the country’s laws.

 

On their part, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Water argued that there is no good reason for the country to be facing such acute shortages because the country is endowed with huge tracts of land that could have been employed for the cultivation of sugarcane to increase domestic production of sugar.

 

Notably and in contradiction to the minister, in his comments during the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC), only a month ago, at the end of January, TPC Chief Executive Officer, Japhary Alli, said in excess of 37,000 tonnes of their sugar was not sold due to uncontrolled importation of sugar.

 

This contradicts the minister’s statement quoted earlier that “until February 11 this year TPC sugar had only 20,000” tonnes since February 11 is less than two weeks after the TPC CEO’s late January announcement of an over stock of sugar and zero sales so much that the firm, according to the CEO, was forced to halt investment plans of up to 100bn/-.

 

In his January statement, Alli lamented that the stockpiles of sugar in their warehouses across at least five regions of the country including Manyara, Arusha, Tanga, Singida and Kilimanjaro had remained unsold for an entire year, since January of 2014.

 

“We have been forced to suspend our investment commitment of more than 100bn/- which was aimed to expand our factory because we are not making any sales as a result of the proliferation of illegally imported sugar,” the TPC boss told media.

 

Only two days ago (Wednesday) it was reported that Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda has been approached to intervene in the sugar crisis that is haunting the nation.

 

 It was reported that: Sources say the Tanzania Sugar Producers Association (TSPA) wrote a letter to the PM some two weeks ago in connection with “conflicting positions” by the Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives ministry on how to arrest the illegal importation of sugar into the Tanzanian market.

 

The TSPA letter quoted the immediate former Agriculture minister Christopher Chiza as having declared on December 22, 2014 that one of the remedial measures the government had taken was the endorsement of a bulk sugar importation entity by sugar producers.

 

It further said the Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) notified TSPA mid last month to ‘get ready for business’ and bore an attached letter signed by Yamungu Kayandabila in his capacity as acting permanent secretary in the Agriculture ministry.

 

However, the attached letter directly contradicted the government’s December 2014 decision as communicated by minister Chiza.

 

TSPA deems the very nature and contents of Kayandabila’s letter surprising since it was addressed solely to the SBT director general and did not copy anyone else as is the norm.

 

By contrast, in minister Chiza’s December 22, 2014 letter to TSPA chairman Ami Mpungwe,  several authorities were copied including Finance minister Saada Mkuya Salum, Industries and Trade minister Dr Abdallah Kigoda, the then East African Cooperation minister Samwel Sitta, President’s Delivery Bureau Deputy CEO Peniel M. Lyimo and Tanzania Revenue Authority Director General Rished Bade.

 

It was also copied to SBT director general Henry J. Semwanza, Mohamed Enterprises (T) Ltd managing director Mohamed Dewji, Al Naeem Enterprises Limited’ Haroon Zakaria, Kagera Sugar Limited’s Seif Seif, TPC Limited CEO Mark Bainbridge and Kilombero Sugar Company Limited general manager Robert Baissac.

 

The two contradicting instructions contained in the letters have left sugar producers puzzled, neither understanding the logic behind the one signed by the acting PS nor comprehending how those who were copied in minister Chiza’s letter are to learn of the sudden change of mind by the Agriculture ministry.

 

The Guardian has learnt that TSPA has expressed deep concern to the PM over the inconsistency of the Agriculture ministry’s stand on a matter of such great importance and relevance to the nation as the state of the sugar industry.

 

TSPA has thus sought the PM’s immediate intervention over Agriculture minister Stephen Wassira’s sudden review of the ministry’s position over sugar imports and domestic use of transit sugar.

 

Reportedly, copies of the association’s letter have been sent to minister Wassira himself, Finance minister Saada Mkuya Salum, Industries and Trade minister Dr Abdallah Kigoda, Chief Secretary (President’s Office) and SBT director general Semwanza.

 

Semwanza is on record talking of plans by the government to put in place regulations to reinforce the ban on illegal sugar imports and to keep transit sugar out of the local market as the law dictates.

 

Going by this, plans to fill any gaps in the supply of sugar meant for local consumption with transit sugar would be similarly illegal even if the move had the blessings of the Agriculture ministry.

 

Stakeholders acknowledge that Tanzanian laws are very clear on this: the offence attracts a fine to the tune of at least 30 million/- or three years’ imprisonment or both fine and imprisonment.