Dar Es Salaam — LOW capacities by the local industries and high taxes have been attributed as major factors on the rising sugar prices in the country.

The annual country demand for sugar is now exceeding 335,000 tonnes, but the capacity of the four industries - Tanganyika Plantation Company (TPC) in Moshi, Kilombero Sugar Company, Kagera Sugar Company and Mtibwa Sugar Company has stagnated at 280,000 tonnes in a year.

The Director of Policy and Research with the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Mr Hussein Kamote, has said the two aspects will continue to push up the sugar prices if they remain unaddressed. He said that the imposition of 100 per cent taxes on imported sugar has been a stumbling block for importers to the local market.

"If the tax is waived, the deficit could have been covered", he said. Furthermore, he said the increased demand of sugar in the largest world producers like Brazil which is being used as lubricants has indirectly contributed to the high price of the product in the local market.

The Sugar Board of Tanzania (SBT) Director General, Mr Mathew Kombe, was quoted recently as saying that the unpredictable foreign exchange rate was to blame on the soaring price. The commodity's price in the world market had increased to 800 US dollars per metric tonne (about 1.2m/-), from 500 US dollars (about 750,000/-) some years back.

However, he said that the price of the commodity in the local market is still low compared to the other East African Community member states - Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.