African sugar producers should eye regional markets-minister

African sugar producers will have to focus on growing regional markets before the European Union dismantles production quotas from 2017, Nigeria’s agriculture minister said on Tuesday.

The EU has been a net importer under its protected sugar regime, but the EU beet sector is expected to become more competitive and could become a net exporter of white sugar when Brussels dismantles production quotas in October 2017.

“Africa needs to lower the trade barriers … so a lot of sugar can move in Africa’s market,” Akinwumi Adesina, who is part of the outgoing Nigerian government and also one of eight candidates shortlisted to become African Development Bank (AfDB) President later this year.

Regional trade could open new markets to African sugar producers, and help support the industry, Adesina said.

Kenya, Uganda and Sudan were all doing well in sugar production, but the continent overall needed more investment in the industry, Adesina told Reuters in an interview.

Apart from more trade, African countries also needed to expand their refining capacity to move up in the global commodities value chain, Adesina added.

“What needs to be done is to continue to increase productivity of the sugar plantations…, to increase the capacity to refine sugar and then to make sure that there is a lot more investment in infrastructure.”