Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar
2 July 2009
Yola — The Chairman of Dangote Group of companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said Wednesday that Nigeria spends $800 million (N116 billion) annually on importing sugar that it can produce locally.
Speaking to journalists in Yola, Adamawa State capital, after the Annual General Meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, the chairman said their commitment to increasing local production of sugar was partly informed by the desire to reduce the wastage of the country's scarce resources on the importation of the commodity.
However, he noted with concern that the operating environment of the Nigerian economy remained very difficult. He said the interest rate, which is over 20 per cent, was very high and the general situation of the economy was bad.
Dangote had earlier told the share holders that the world economic crises witnessed towards the end of last year and incessant crises in the Niger Delta had led to the decline in the exploration and production of crude oil in Nigeria.
"The poor state of the country's infrastructure and instability in the exchange rate persisted during the year. "This led to the high cost of production, which impacted negatively on businesses in the country.
"A number of businesses closed, while some relocated outside the country. The depreciation of the Naira to the US Dollar also affected our company as our major raw material is imported from Brazil ," he said.
Despite these, he said, the board and management of the company "were able to manage the situation" and produce good results. He said the board had recommended the payment of a final dividend of N4.2 billion to the shareholders, in addition to the N10.2 billion dividend paid to them last September.
"I assure you that we are poised to ensure that all challenges are surmounted; while we count on your cooperation and support for the delivery of our goals and objectives for the new business year," he said.
The AGM was held in Adamawa State partly to enable the shareholders undertake a facility tour of one of their companies, Savanna Sugar Company, located in Numan, some 35 minutes drive from the state capital.
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