Overview:
According to Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association officials, due to scarcity of cane, processors have been forced to operate below capacity thus cutting back on exports to concentrate on producing for the local market.
Uganda’s sugar exports declined by about Shs27b in the month of July as the country continues to face a shortage of cane due to high demand.
The Bank of Uganda (BoU) report shows that country exported sugar worth $12 million (Shs46.2b), compared to $19m (Shs73b) in June.
This can be translated into 16,604 tonnes compared to 27,391 tonnes for June.
According to Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association officials, due to scarcity of cane, processors have been forced to operate below capacity thus cutting back on exports to concentrate on producing for the local market.
Mr Mwine Jim Kabeho, the Chairman of USMA says that whereas the country is sure to have enough sugar to go around, it will not have any surpluses for export and will not be meeting projected production targets for 2022.
“The estimated sugar production for 2022 is 822,000 tons, out of which 720,000 tons is meant to be brown sugar and 60,000 tons meant to be industrial sugar. The shortages of cane mean that we are highly unlikely to meet those targets,” Mr Kabeho says.
Dr David Babi Kamusaala, a sugarcane farmer who also teaches Psychology at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), says the opening of the Mayuge Sugar Industries (MSI) and GM Sugar mills in Mayuge and Buikwe, coupled with a drought that hit Busoga in 2014 triggered a hike in the price of the crop.
“The situation led to a high demand for sugarcane and inevitably a hike in the price from Shs73,000 per ton to an unprecedented Shs187,000 per ton,” Dr Kamusaala says.
That triggered an exodus into sugarcane farming.
This comes as a price of a kilo of sugar draws closer to Shs5,000.
About 29,000 farming households engage in cane production in Uganda, and these farmers employ an estimated 640,000 labourers.