(Ecofin Agency) - Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) sees Africa as a region with various opportunities to develop and grow activities in the sugar sector. This was stated by Enrico Biancheri, trade manager of Biosey, world’s second-largest sugar and ethanol producer, controlled by LDC. 

According to the manager, the company plans to export sugar to Africa, where the competition is still low.

Mr. Biancheri said that global competition has been exacerbated in the last 6-8 years with the arrival of new operators such as Cofco, the largest agri-business conglomerate in China and the Singaporean Wilmar, Asia's leading agribusiness group.

The challenge for LDC will be to acquire an additional share in West Africa especially in Nigeria and Ghana which offer brighter prospects for exporters.

According to data from International Sugar Organization (ISO), while by the end of the 2017-18 trade year, Nigeria expects to import 1.59 million tons of sugar, from the 1.54 million in 2016, Ghana’s sugar import will grow by 6.5% to 346, 000 tons. 

This LDC’s interest in Africa occurs in a context of a decline to lowest level in 9 years in global refined sugar prices, due to oversupply in such regions such as EU which is set to record the highest stock ever (22.8 million tons) during the period under review.

Let’s note that Louis Dreyfus Company (founded in 1851) achieved a net turnover of $43 billion at the end of the 2017 financial year.

Espoir Olodo