Vusumuzi Dube
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Sugar Association has assured the nation that there is sufficient supply if sugar amidst fears that the El Nino induced drought might have impacted on sugar availability in the April 2024 to March 2025 milling season.
In a statement on Thursday, chairman of the Zimbabwe Sugar Association Mr Willard Zireva advised stakeholders and the general public that there will be adequate sugar supply for both household and industrial consumption despite the current El Nino induced drought that the country has experienced which has affected the harvest expected from the other agricultural crops.
“As sugarcane is a twelve-month crop grown under irrigation in Zimbabwe, the sugar that is currently on sale was produced from the sugarcane crop harvested during the previous milling season which ended in December 2023.
“Due to the good rainfall received during that particular agricultural season, major dams that supply water for sugarcane irrigation in the Lowveld have sufficient water to last at least the next two seasons,” said Mr Zireva.
He said with the current milling season underway, which resumed mid-April 2024, the industry will have sufficient cover for brown, white and manufacturer’s grade sugar stocks for the local market’s domestic and industrial use.
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Bongani Ndlovu