• New 10-year strategy aims to boost sugar production and processing capacity.
• Sector faces high costs, outdated equipment, and limited irrigation infrastructure.
• Higher output could expand exports to markets in the EU, U.S., and Africa.

Zimbabwe plans to raise its annual sugar production to 800,000 tons within the next decade. This is the main goal of the new Sugar Industry Development Strategy for 2026–2035, unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on October 10.

ZERO DRAFT ZIMBABWE SUGARCANE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (2026-2035)

@Min_of_IC & @MoLAFWRD_Zim held their first joint Consultative Workshop at Palm Lodge in Chiredzi to present the Zero Draft Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Strategy (2026-2035). pic.twitter.com/4NnIQpOuSS

— Ministry of Industry and Commerce (@Min_of_IC) October 10, 2025

The target is nearly double the country’s current average output of 415,000 tons over the past three years. The total investment cost required to implement the plan has not yet been disclosed.

According to authorities, the strategy aims to tackle several challenges holding back the industry, including low farm productivity, outdated milling equipment, shortages of molasses feedstock, weak irrigation and power infrastructure, and high production costs.

Zimbabwe’s sugar industry continues to operate below capacity. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that the two main producers, Triangle and Hippo Valley, have a combined annual installed capacity of 640,000 tons of raw sugar but currently use only 70% of it.

The USDA estimates that 3.63 million tons of sugarcane were harvested in the 2024/2025 season from about 45,000 hectares. To meet its 800,000-ton annual production target, the government plans to expand both processing capacity and sugarcane plantations in the coming years.

Zimbabwe’s annual sugar consumption has averaged around 390,000 tons over the past three years, making the country largely self-sufficient. Doubling production could enable greater export potential for the industry.

Between the 2022/2023 and 2024/2025 marketing seasons, Zimbabwe exported an average of 82,000 tons of sugar, mainly to Mozambique, the European Union, the United States, Botswana, and Kenya.

According to Trade Map data, the country’s sugar exports generated an average of $43.4 million in annual revenue between 2021 and 2024.