Funmi Peter-Omale
9 December 2007
Abuja — Minister of Commerce and Industry, Engr. Charles Ugwuh, has said that Nigeria has the potential to develop ethanol production and market it, if the sugar cane industry is well developed saying the federal government was working to see the dream through from next year.
Ugwuh said this in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the 2007 Sugar Forum, organised by National Sugar Development Council.
"The fact that sugar has become an international commodity is no longer in doubt. This is especially because of its domestic and industrial applications. Its uses cut across several industries including pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, confectionaries soft drinks, breweries and automobiles. In countries like Brazil, China, and the United States of America, ethanol fuel, which is derived from sugar and other sources as alternative sources of energy, is fast developing into big business."
The Minister, who was represented by Alhaji Usman Nakochi, lamented however that Nigeria's sugar industry has not developed enough to meet local demand leading to a large scale importation to augment local production..
"It was as a result of this that government decided to open up this industry by inviting private participation in the running of its sugar businesses. At the same time, new sugar plants are being built in Hadejia (Jigawa State), Galala (Bauchi State), Lau (Taraba State), Ibaji (Kogi) and in Lagos State.
When completed these efforts should boost Nigeria's production capacity."
Ugwuh noted that out of the 1,176,698 tonnes consumed in 2006, only 50,000 tonnes was produced locally, leaving a deficit of 1,126,698 tonnes. "I have no doubt that given the determination of government to promote industrialisation and stakeholders' contributions, we shall get our priorities right as well as strive to be guided by economic principles."
While asserting that ethanol production is "the direction of global business", its development is also helping nations to diversify their resources as well as add value.
"Once we are bale to take the right decisions, Nigeria should be in a position to benefit from the ethanol business."
He said government was interested in the proposal by the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) asking for a Presidential Initiative on the Adoption of Sugarcane as a sugar/energy crop. "I am told that this will involve the establishment of flexible sugar industries (FSI) in the six geopolitical zones. This estate based sugar factory is capable of producing electricity, sugar and ethanol at the same time. The FSI envisaged for each zone shall comprise 100,000 tons/annum sugar factory, a 50,000 L/day ethanol distillery and generate about 25 MW of electricity for use by the factory while the surplus would be sold to the national grid."
Executive Secretary, NSDC Usman Bello urged the organised private sector to join forces with government to ensure that ethanol is developed saying, "Sugarcane is no longer used as edible crop but also as energy as in ethanol. Sugar as energy crop has now become the while gold. We should all join hands together to make this nation become an industrialised one."
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