The Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism has received assurance from Illovo Sugar Company that its sugar will be available on the domestic market over the next few weeks.
The assurance was made when the Committee visited Illovo Sugar Company in Nchalo, Chikwawa District, to, among other things, appreciate progress on production and supply of sugar which has been scarce on the domestic market.
Vice Chairperson of the Committee, Honourable Arthur Chipungu said “the Committee has a mandate to ensure that the company produces enough sugar to match the demand on the domestic market.”
The Committee further committed to engage relevant stakeholders such as government ministries to garner support for the company to improve its production.
General Manager for Illovo Sugar Company, Ravidhran Pillay, assured the parliamentarians that production is underway and that Illovo “will soon start distributing sugar countrywide beginning with the Northern part of the country.”
Pillay bemoaned natural disasters such as Cyclone Freddy, severe drought, shortage of forex and theft of irrigation equipment which he said had led to reduced production and supply of the commodity. He, however, added that IIIovo Sugar Company has plans to increase yield of the agricultural crop.