Govt urged to ban sugar imports #zimbabwe

Sugarcane farmers in Chiredzi have called on Government
to ban the importation of sugar as there is plenty of it on the
local market.
The farmers say have over 100 000 tonnes of sugar in
stock.
In an interview last week, Zimbabwe Sugarcane
Development Association chairperson Mr Edmore Veterai,
said they was no sugar shortage in the country and hence
no reason for imports.
"As sugarcane farmers we are concerned by some errant
business people who are importing sugar in the country. As
we speak, we are sitting on 100 000 tonnes of processed
sugar from last season's harvest and now we are already in
the milling season. We might have more than a million
tonnes of sugar yet others are busy importing inferior,
uninspected and questionable sugar," he said.
Mr Veterai called on Government to protect the local
market.
He said the sugarcane industry employs over 25 000 people
and their jobs must be protected.
"We are also having discussions with our millers, Tongaat
Hulett, to achieve a unity of purpose in the industry and to
keep our prices and quality of sugar competitive. This can
only be achieved if the market is absorbing our products,"
he said.
Police in Harare bust a sugar smuggling syndicate a
fortnight ago and recovered over 8 000 tonnes.
The sugar was imported from India and investigations have
shown that the directors of Grindsberg Investment Private
Limited, trading as Oriental, had permits to import the
commodity.