Tanzania now sets indicative prices for sugar after spike
What you need to know:
- Tanzania has been facing a shortage of sugar, leading to the hike in prices, with the government saying the country did not achieve its sugar production target last year due to adverse weather conditions.
Dar es Salaam. Saddened with a monumental rise in sugar prices, the government has decided to wade into the product.
Currently, a kilogram of sugar fetches between Sh4,000 and Sh5,000 across the country.
This is an epic rise from a price of between Sh2,700 and Sh3,000 that the sweetener fetched just two months ago.
And, in response to the situation, the Tanzania Sugar Board (TSB) announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 that a kilogram of sugar should cost between Sh2,800 and Sh3,200 in retail shops.
In its fresh effort to reign in the sugar industry, the TSB said retailers in the Southern Highland Zone regions of Iringa, Mbeya, Songwe and Njombe, are compelled to sell the sweetener at a price that ranges between Sh2,700 and Sh3,000.
Signed by the TSB Director General, Prof Kenneth Bengesi, the notice compels retailers in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Coastal regions to sell a kilogram of sugar at a wholesale price of between Sh2,600 and Sh2,800 whereas so that consumers can access the product at a retail price of between Sh2,700 and Sh3,000.
In the central zone of the country (Dodoma, Singida, Tabora regions) the indicative price is Sh2,650 to Sh800 for wholesale and Sh2,800 to Sh3,000 for retail.
Retailers in the Lake Zone (Mwanza, Geita, Shinyanga, Simiyu and Mara) are obligated to sell a kilogram of sugar at anything that does not exceed Sh3,000 while in Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara regions, the sweetener should be sold for a wholesale price of between Sh2,600 and 2,800. It should however retail at a price of between Sh2,700 and Sh3,000.
Residents of Kagera, Kigoma, Katavi and Rukwa regions will pay the highest amount to get a kilogram of the sweetener. In the four regions, TSB caps the retail price of the product at Sh3,200.
The price caps, according to Prof Bengesi, have been prepared in line with the Sugar Industry Act No. 26 of 2001 (Cap. 251).
The law also empowers TSB to take penalties against any person who will flout the announced indicative prices.
Tanzania has been facing a shortage of sugar, leading to the hike in prices, with the government saying the country did not achieve its sugar production target last year due to adverse weather conditions.
In response to the situation, the government has recently issued sugar import permits, with the first consignment expected to arrive early next week to alleviate the price surge.
The government permitted the importation of 50,000 tonnes of sugar for January and February this year to address shortages caused by heavy rains that disrupted harvests.
While sugar factories have resumed production, Prof Bengesi noted recently that the weather remains unstable and that the government continues to strive for self-sufficiency in sugar production to stabilize prices and reduce dependence on imports.
