High Price: Importers Cut N1.5trn Sugar Shipment From Brazil
Nigeria’s sugar supply faces disruption as raw sugar prices from Brazil soar 17% to $502/tonne, straining deliveries of 1.9 million tonnes worth N1.5 trillion. Imports dropped 73% from February to March 2025 due to high costs and a weak naira. To boost self-sufficiency, Nigeria signed a $1 billion sugar production deal with China’s SINOMACH to scale local output.
High price of raw sugar from Brazil to Nigeria has affected smooth deliveries of about 1.9 million tonnes valued at N1.5 trillion ($954 million) needed for local consumption.
It was gathered that the price of the commodity had soared from $420/ tonne to $502/ tonnes in the last four month, leading to 17 per cent increase as the country’s sugar market is projected to surpass $2.5 billion by 2030 at a 5.37 per cent CAGR from $1.9 billion in 2024.
It was gathered that Nigeria, which relies on 96 per cent of its raw sugar from the Brazil, had been grappling with soaring price due to weak naira and global supply challenges.
Findings revealed that only $112 million worth of sugar was ferried to the country between February and March 2025 as $24 million of the consignment was imported in March as against $88.5 million delivered in February, leading to 73 per cent drop in shipment.
Also, this month, only two vessels, Sea Diamond 1 and Desert spring with 102,830 tonnes are expected at Lagos Port terminals as Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s shipping data indicated that Sea Diamond 1 with 49,000 tonnes will berth at Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL) this week, while Desert Spring laden with 53,830 tonnes would be moored at Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL).
In March, only 98,000 tonnes of raw sugar were ferried to the ports from Brazil. Recall that the Federal Government had rolled out comprehensive plan for accelerated sugar project development in 2025 as investors are expected to grow sugar by 9.4 per cent from $1.84 billion in 2024 to $2.03 billion in 2025.
The country, which is the second largest sugar market in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa, has a robust demand for sugar-intensive items such as bakery and confectionery, pharmaceuticals, dairy and soft drinks sectors.
Last month, the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese conglomerate, SINOMACH, for a sugarcane cultivation and processing to produce up to one million metric tonnes of sugar annually in Nigeria.
The agreement, a product of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership initiated by President Bola Tinubu, has the potential to attract as much as $1 billion in investments into the Nigerian sugar sector.
As part of the deal, the Chinese conglomerate will construct a sugar production plant and develop a sugarcane plantation with an initial capacity of 100,000 metric tonnes annually, while NSDC will assist in securing the necessary authorisations and approvals for the project, which is expected to more than double the country’s current local sugar output.
According to NSDC Executive Secretary, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, the initiative marks a critical step toward Nigeria’s economic selfsufficiency and food security.
He said: “A robust sugar industry will deliver several benefits to Nigeria, including job creation, rural infrastructure development, and foreign exchange savings by reducing sugar imports.
“The sugar industry can serve as a model, giving us the opportunity to adopt a creative and transformative approach to achieving scale and speed.
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Source : New Telegraphng
