Rwanda to get second sugar factory

Rwanda is set to get a second sugar factor amid sugar shortages that push prices higher. A Government official told Business Times that the new factory will be constructed in Ntasho in the Eastern Province once a second feasibility study by Mauritius Researchers is complete.Theresphore Mugwiza, in Charge of Industrial Development at the Ministry of Trade and Industry said two studies had been undertaken, including one which revealed that sugarcane growing in the area would be successful.Details of the proposed factory, which will be an undertaking by a private operator, are still unknown. It is expected to address the country’s dire sugar shortage.“Sugar shortage is just ugly; taxes (excise duty on sugar imports) had to be slashed at one time to encourage importation of the commodity. The rapid economic growth comes with high demand for sugar,” Mugwiza noted.Rwanda has one sugar factory owned by Kabuye Sugar works, whose production is five times less the demand. Kabuye Sugar Works produces 10,000 tonnes every year. Demand is way above at 50,000 tonnes. The shortfall is addressed through importation as the country grapples with a widening trade deficit. The first study by American researchers in 1994 indicated that sugarcane growing could be successful in the Eastern Province, Mugwiza said.

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Rwanda to get second sugar factory