Maravi

Lusaka traders queue for sugar

Lusaka traders queue for sugar
By Fridah Zinyama
Friday May 30, 2008 [04:00]

SCORES of Lusaka traders yesterday morning queued up at Paza Trading in the city centre to buy sugar, a commodity that is slowly becoming scarce on the market. The shortage of sugar has hit the country and prices have skyrocketed as traders are taking advantage to make exorbitant profits. Currently, a two kilogramme packet of sugar which was pegged at K8,200 is selling for K20,000 whilst a one kilogramme packet, which was selling at about K4,000 is pegged at K10,000.

Most of the traders talked to expressed disappointment with Zambia Sugar Plc over the shortage of the commodity on the market. They wondered why the company could not meet the demand of sugar on the local market.

A check in most shops in the city centre revealed that the retailers did not have the commodity apart from Paza Trading.

Reliable sources have disclosed that Zambia Sugar Company Plc has been transporting sugar into Lusaka from Mazabuka with the intention of exporting it.

The sources said Zambia Sugar intends to export the sugar so that prices remain high even after the company starts production.

However, efforts to get a comment from the company proved futile.
And Musa Biscuits proprietor Yosuf Musa said lack of industrial sugar would force him to shut his factory, as the commodity was very important to its operations.

"I will be forced to shut down the factory and put my workers on forced leave as I do not have sugar to continue production," he said.

Musa explained that he had tried to get an import permit for industrial sugar from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives but he was told that they could only allow him if the commerce ministry permanent secretary, Davidson Chilipamushi authourised them to do so.

Musa said he would be forced to shut down his company until the situation normalised in the country.

Earlier in the week, Chilipamushi said he had allowed one of the sugar companies to import both domestic and industrial sugar into the country.

And Sugar Producers Association of Zambia (SPAZ) executive secretary, Lewis Nathan in a statement, attributed the sugar shortage on the market to the unprecedented rainfall that the country experienced this year, which had negatively affected the planned sugar production.

"The heavy rains which were a phenomenon experienced throughout the region similarly affected start up dates of sugar producers in the neighbouring countries," he stated.

Nathan stated that Zambia Sugar, the largest producers of sugar in the country, had started its production at the end of April whilst Kalungwishi Estate would start production next month.

Labels: INFLATION, ZAMBIA SUGAR COMPANY

posted by MrK @ 3:53 AM