Sub-Saharan African sugar producers have started focusing on growing exports to regional and domestic markets as demand from the European market is expected to slump.
This on the back of the European Union (EU) lifting sugar production quotas in the trade bloc by 2017.
Gavin Dalgleish, managing director of Illovo Sugar, was cited by Reuters news agency as saying that the reform of the EU market would have a limited effect on Illovo’s growth strategy as the company expected a rise in regional consumption.
With a growing population and continuing urbanisation, sub-Saharan Africa is set to see a significant rise in sugar consumption in the coming years according to food, agriculture and sustainability-oriented bank, Rabobank.
