(Ecofin Agency) - The Ivorian government has revealed that it plans to sell all its 17,922 shares in the Nouvelle Société sucrière de la Comoé (SN Sosuco), Burkina’s leading sugar producer. According to APA, the Ivorian ministry of trade, through its privatization committee, has recently launched a call for tenders for these shares.

Without disclosing the reasons behind the sale, sources with knowledge of the case mentioned challenges to sell locally-produced sugar. SN Sosuco which provides 25% of Burkina’s demand (around 30,000 tons) exploits about 10,000 ha of sugar cane plantations.

Besides the government of Cote d’Ivoire, SN Sosuco, which is Burkina Faso’s first employer, is also owned by the IPS-WA group who is its main shareholder.

Aaron Akinocho