Chairperson of Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Sameer Suleman says their assessment on Sugar prices has shown that Sugar is cheaper in Malawi than in neighboring countries such as Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania.
Suleman made the claim during a trade visit at Mchinji border on Saturday.
Speaking with reporters, Suleman said that the issue of rising sugar prices is determined by the foreign currency exchange rate and it’s not true that the K1500 per Kg price of Malawi Sugar is higher than the one from the neighboring countries.
He added that 90 percent of Malawian Sugar is crossing the border which shows that there is a high demand because in the neighboring countries sugar is more expensive than the IIIovo Sugar so obviously traders will go for a cheaper price.
“We have seen it, we have documented it. Our neighbors prefer our sugar than theirs which shows that our Sugar is cheaper than theirs,” he said.
He then urged government and Illovo Sugar Limited to discuss and find a better way of trying to get a commodity to Malawians to an affordable price .
On his part, Managing Director for IIIovo Sugar Lekani Katandula said they have introduced a 90g pack and they are also working on to introduce 200g pack to ensure that the sugar is affordable to Malawians.
On 16 June this year, Minister of Trade and Industry gave seven days to IIIovo Sugar Limited to reduce sugar prices but until now the company has still maintained the current price.
Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiative (CDEDI) has been pushing Illovo Sugar Limited to reduce its prices and has vowed to continue with the fight until they see a change.
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