Nigeria's sugar import dropped

Nigeria's raw sugar imports dropped to 800,000 tonnes from 1.4 million tonnes recorded in the first quarter of 2013, an official document states. The document was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria from the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) in Abuja on Thursday. The document, signed by Latif Busari, the Executive Secretary of NSDC, also states that refined sugar imports dipped from 1.88 per cent in 2012 to 0.67 per cent in 2013. It adds that local price of sugar fell from N9,000 per 50kg in 2012 to N6,950 in 2013, representing a decrease of 23 per cent. The document states that total national demand for sugar rose from 1.5 million tonnes in 2012 to two million tonnes in 2013. It adds that sugar smuggling was virtually non-existent as refinery capacity utilisation rose from 60 per cent to 75 per cent. The document attributes the successes to the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) launched in January 2013.