A manager at one outlet said he did not know the reason why suppliers had stopped delivering sugar.

“The shop ran out of sugar two weeks ago and we do not know when it will come. The shortage of sugar has made some retail outlets raise their sugar prices,” he said.

When Business Chronicle visited shops, some had only three packets of sugar, some six and some bigger shops like OK Zimbabwe did not have sugar.

The sugar prices were ranging from $2,20 to $3 and the highest was $4. The normal price is about $2 for a 2kg pack.

At West Star Wholesalers there was no sugar as well and an employee said they had been told there was a problem with the sugar refinery.

“These days we get the sugar as prepaid.

“We pay for the sugar to our supplier in Triangle in advance and we get it after a week. The sugar refinery is also down,” he said.

Tongaat Huletts corporate affairs manager Mrs Adelaide Chikunguru would not comment on the sugar shortage saying the company was in a closed period.

“As per tradition we are normally in a closed period from the month of March to the last week of May pending the announcement of our annual results in the last week of May,” she said.

Meanwhile, New Ziana reports that the price of raw sugar for the 2012/13 marketing season has increased to $700 per tonne from $525 last year.

Commercial Sugar Cane Association of Zimbabwe secretary general Mr Darlington Chiwa said this year’s price was viable.

“When we deliver raw sugar to the market farmers we always want to go back to the field and with $700 we will be able to recoup production costs. Farmers will also be able to prepare for the 2012/13 cropping season,” he said.

Chiwa said farmers had negotiated the price, which was determined by global sugar price trends.
“The price is reviewed quarterly and if there is an increase farmers will get their bonus. For now farmers are being paid $700 until the next review. We hope the price will continue on an upward trend on the international market,” he said.

Harvesting of sugar cane started in April and is expected to run until December.

Sugar cane production in the 2012/13 season is estimated at 3,5 million tonnes, 17 percent more than the three million tonnes of 2011/12 season.

Zimbabwe exports at least 40 percent of its raw sugar to the international market.

Sugar is the third foreign currency earner after tobacco and cotton.

You Might Also Like

Comments