Gabon sugar output drops by 1100 tonnes

APA – Libreville (Gabon) The African Sugar Company of Gabon (SUCAF) registered 1100-tonne output drop, from 26,000 tonnes in 2007 to 25,800 tonnes this year, a source close to the refinery told APA on Monday.

Despite this slight fall, the output tallies with the company’s outlook pegged at 25,000 tonnes for the four-month sugar campaign, Sucaf managing director, Guillaume Sordet said.

Based in the south-eastern Haut-Ogooue province, Sucaf forecasts about 28,000 tonnes of sugar in 2009 when the crop industry would have been liberalised.

This outlook coincides with the end of Sucaf’s monopoly in the sugar industry because of a memorandum of understanding it signed with the Gabonese government banning the importation of sugar by other businesspeople.

The lift of restrictions on the sugar marketing could lead the Sucaf to revise downwards the current kilogramme price pegged at 780 CFA francs termed "unreasonable" by consumers.

Nineteen percent of the sugar produced in Gabon is dedicated to the domestic market while the rest is exported to Cameroon and Sao Tome e Principe.

With 500 million CFA francs capital, the Haut-Ogooue sugar factory (SOSUHO) changed its corporate name in 1999 to become Sucaf after passing under control of BGI-Castel group, with an increased capital of four billion CFA francs.

SUCAF has invested near 30 billion CFA francs over five years whereas the State claimed about 15 billion CFA francs for the rehabilitation of this company.

This factory exploits about 5,000 hectares and grows two varieties of sugar cane, namely "ACO" which has an abundant juice and "B46" whose bagasse is a biomass used as fuel source for sugar mills.

Sucaf employs a permanent staff of 500 people, including executives and other officers and 600 seasonal workers from various countries during the sugar campaigns.