The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) says the reduction of industrial sugar price by 6 percent is not enough because what is needed to be reduced is price of domestic sugar which Malawians use on a daily basis.
CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa said this during a press briefing which the organization conducted in Lilongwe on Friday.
Speaking with reporters, Namiwa reminded Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola-Banda that Malawians expect locally-produced sugar to be accessible and affordable to them regardless of their status.
He added that their concern comes amid reports that Illovo Sugar Company has reduced the price of industrial sugar by 6 percent, but has said nothing about the price of domestic sugar which is used by the majority poor.
“If these reports are anything to go by, Illovo Sugar is surely taking Malawians
for granted because both industrial and domestic sugar are products of the
same cane grown in Chikwawa, Salima and Nkhotakota, therefore, a decision
to reduce the price is supposed to apply to both types of sugar.
“We at CDEDI, would like to believe that when, on June 26, 2023, Hon
Chithyola Banda said government was aware that the general public was
anxiously waiting for the good news about sugar price reduction and that parties involved would make submissions, the kind of good news the minister had in mind was about reducing the price of industrial sugar only, and not the domestic one which is mostly used by the vulnerable and marginalized majority,” he said.
He went on to say that Malawians should know that out of all the companies that make up Illovo Sugar Africa, namely Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, it is only Illovo Malawi that posts obscene profits.
He said that it is justified by the fact that locally-consumed Malawi sugar is more expensive than the exported one.
“It’s total exploitation of Malawians.
Just to illustrate the above, in the year-ending August 31, 2022 Illovo Malawi
Financial Statement shows a kilogramme of sugar was sold at 61 percent higher locally than exported. During that period under review Illovo was exporting sugar at an average price of MK465.00 while locally a kilo of sugar was sold at MK733.84,” he said.
Namiwa added that Chithyola Banda should demand from Illovo, in the interest of transparency and accountability, to explain to the nation its price buildup—starting from cane production, transportation, crushing, refining to packaging—maybe there is something is being missed in the equation.
He said CDEDI, on behalf of millions of low-income consumers, is requesting the Trade and Industry minister to invoke Section 4 of the Control of Goods Act (COGA) of 2018 and declare that sugar is no longer a protected commodity.
