Dangote Sugar Refinery and Flour Mills of Nigeria have reacted to the rumor being circulated on the media by BUA Foods of suspended sugar sales by the two companies in order to create artificial scarcity and force prices to go up.
Dangote Sugar in a notice to the Nigerian Exchange stated thus:
“In compliance with the requirements of the Rulebook of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Dangote Sugar Refinery wishes to strongly refute the allegations and assertions in their entirety as these false allegations may mislead the market and may give an undue competitive edge to BUA.
We believe this behaviour exhibited by BUA is worrisome and appears to conflict with the anti-competition rules. Last year, just before the commencement of the Ramadan, BUA made similar false allegations against the Company that it was engaged in ‘price-fixing’ and not honestly pursuing the Backward Integration Project. In response to this, we published a Press Release (published on the Issuers’ Portal on April 14, 2021) to refute the false allegations and made a formal complaint to the Anti-Competition Commission. Another formal complaint was made to the Commission on February 14, 2022 and we await their actions to address the situation.
In line with our plan, we have continued to supply Sugar to meet the market’s demand and have made the necessary supply chain and logistics investments/arrangements to ensure there are no risks to our ability to meet the current market demands.
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc remains the highest Sugar supplier in the market today, with over 1.44m MT installed capacity at our Apapa Refinery and we are the only company producing sugar from own grown sugarcane under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) at the Numan operations in Yola, Adamawa State.
We remain committed to fair play and good governance and would continue to supply Sugar to the market without interruptions”.
Flour Mills of Nigeria also in a notice to the Nigerian Exchange as regards this allegation stated thus:
“In reference to the publication in some dailies, the assertion by BUA Foods on the supposed suspension of sugar sales by FMN based on compliance issues is incorrect and indeed capable of creating a false impression in the market, which is contrary to the interest of consumers.
Being the preferred brand for millions of Nigerian households, Golden Penny Sugar is still available, affordable, and accessible in the market.
As one of Nigeria’s leading foods and agro-allied groups, with over 61 years of operations in the food industry, we want to reassure Nigerians of the following:
We understand that millions of Nigerian families trust us for our quality, nutritious, and affordable foods. To safeguard that trust, FMN will continue to expand its investments in backward integration and the sustainable development of the critical aspects of the food value chain, including Grains, Starch, Feeds and Proteins, Oils and Fats, and Sugar.
To demonstrate our commitment to the success of the National Sugar Master Plan, we will continue to uphold the tenets of the National Sugar Master Plan and expand our investments for the sustainable development of the Sugar industry.
With a total landmass of over 21,000 hectares, including a world-class sugar refinery, we have continued to expand our operations at Sunti Golden Sugar Estate including an additional 300 million USD in Nasarawa state and a commitment to investing another 70 billion over the next three years to develop the upland area of the Sunti Sugar Estate. This will further cement our commitment to Nigeria’s vision of self-sufficiency in sugar production and complement the Federal Government’s commitment to economic diversification, food security, and the transition to a more sustainable economy”.