Leadership (Abuja)
Amaka Ifeakandu
9 October 2008
The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), has blamed the poor growth of the nation's sugar industry to the inadequate power supply in the country.
Executive Secretary of the Council, Alhaji Usman Bello, who made this remark in Lagos at the first stakeholders' forum on Flexible Sugar Industry (FSI) 2008, said that due to the problem of power supply, some sugar companies have stopped production for two years.
He said that the nation's sugar sub-sector is largely underdeveloped with untapped resources and potentialities, adding that currently existing sugar companies could produce less than 10 per cent of the requirement.
He stated further that the wide gap between sugar requirement and production is usually filled up through massive importation with huge amount of foreign exchange.
Bello stated that presently, the country produces 100,000 tons of sugar, while 1.3 million tons or 90 per cent sugar consumed by Nigerians are imported.
He disclosed that the Flexible Sugar Industry (FSI) stakeholder's sensitisation forum, was organised to kill three birds with one stone, adding that it was designed to produce enough sugar for domestic consumption and exports, to enlighten people on how to use sugar to produce adequate fuel ethanol for blending with gasoline and to generate electricity through co-generation plant.
He noted that the plan to use sugar to produce ethanol and generate energy, is the council's new initiative which it believes if generally accepted, would go a long way to reduce high rate of unemployment in the country.
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