Sugarcane lows hit factories, prices rise

Dr Ashatu Kijaji, the Industry and Trade minister, made this affirmation yesterday after inspecting operations of the Manyara Sugar firm at Matufa village, Babati District, Manyara Region.

She said the factories face an acute shortage of raw materials thus failing to operate, affecting sugar availability in the nearby regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara and even Tanga.

With the shortfall, efforts are being undertaken to take the product from surplus regions to the northern zone, she said, meanwhile as shortages push sugar prices to a minimum of 3,200/- per kilo to upwards of 4,000/- in remote places, causing pain to residents.

John Jeu, the Manyara Sugar public relations officer, said that the factory had no other way than stopping production, appealing to regional administration to encourage farmers to increase production of sugarcane.

This way factories will have enough raw materials throughout the year, he said, elaborating that the government needs to come up with a long-term plan of building over 680 deep water wells for irrigation farming of the crop.

Peter Mallya, a trader at Babati town, said that shops are running out of sugar and traders find it difficult to obtain it from other places. The public authorities need to address the challenge, he added.