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We saved $191.6bn from sugar importation – FG

By on November 9, 2014

The Federal Government on Friday said that the sum of $191.6bn had been saved in the last three years through the implementation of its sugar policy.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, stated this at the fourth annual workshop for Industry, Trade and Investment correspondents in Abuja with theme: ‘Building a greater nation through sustained transformation.’

The Federal Executive Council had, at its 37th meeting, which was held on September 19, 2012, approved the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan for implementation and adoption as a government strategic road map for the development of the sugar sub-sector.

The policy, which took effect on January 1, 2013, led to an outright ban on the importation of refined sugar in retail packs.

The plan contains fiscal and investment-specific incentives designed to stimulate and attract new investors to the industry in order to increase local sugar production and reduce the nation’s precarious dependence on imports.

According to the plan, an investment of $3.1bn (N496bn) would be needed from the private sector to effectively implement the sugar policy.

Aganga, while quoting figures provided to him from the National Bureau of Statistics, said in 2011, the total amount spent by the country for sugar importation was $240.6bn.

This figure, he added, had been brought down significantly to $49bn as at the end of the second quarter of this year.

Aganga said through the implementation of the reforms in the sector, a total investment of $3.2bn had been made as against $100m investment in 2011.

He put the number of jobs to be created in the sector at over 80,000 as against 3,850 jobs created in 2011.

He said, “We did not have a national sugar plan in 2011, but now we do. The number of jobs in the sugar industry then is 3,850 but today, we are looking at over 80,000.

“Investment in sugarcane, of course, was $100m then but now we are talking at $3.2bn.”

Giving the breakdown of the investment inflows into the Free Trade Zones, the minister stated that the Onne Oil and Gas FTZ, in Rivers State, had attracted investment worth $6bn, noting that investment commitments in the FTZ were worth $6.7bn in the last one year.

He added that other FTZs across the country under the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority also generated $4.4bn investment in the last one year, noting, however, that the Ministry of Trade and Investment was currently reviewing the operations of the Free Trade Zones to make them more functional.

Overall, Aganga said that Nigeria had secured over N6.6tn investment commitment over the last one year.

“The breakdown of the total investment commitment showed that expected FDI into the country stood at N3.9bn, while investment commitment from local investors stood at N2.7tn,” he said.

The minister said President Goodluck Jonathan had initiated and implemented far-reaching industrial policies which had helped to diversify the nation’s economic and revenue base; attract fresh foreign direct investment, created employment and increased the capacity utiliation of key manufacturing sectors of the economy.

 

[Punch]