• Government aims to attract local and foreign investment into sugar industry.

• Annual demand stands at 700,000 tons, well above local output.

• Sugar imports nearly tripled between 2020 and 2024.

The Tanzanian government is stepping up efforts to attract both domestic and foreign direct investment into its sugar industry, Planning and Investment Minister Kitila Mkumbo said February 23.

According to a statement from the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority, the strategy aligns with the country’s Vision 2050, which aims to place Tanzania among Africa’s top ten food-producing nations. “We have an annual demand of 700,000 tons of sugar, of which the coming of these investors will definitely narrow down the sugar gap,” Mkumbo said.

Local sugar output has stagnated in recent years. Data compiled by the Bank of Tanzania show that the country produced an average of 445,000 tons of refined sugar between 2020 and 2024, without exceeding 500,000 tons during that period.

At the same time, domestic demand has continued to rise, increasing reliance on imports. Trade Map data show that sugar imports nearly tripled, climbing from 186,498 tons in 2020 to 553,615 tons in 2024.

The cost of those imports rose even faster, almost quintupling over the same period to reach $403.3 million in 2024. Tanzania’s main sugar suppliers that year were Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, India, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

Stéphanas Assocle