Speaking at the Flag off Ceremony of the 2022/2023 Crushing Season and Outgrower Scheme Awards in Numan, Adamawa State, Dangote said the company is making massive investments in Adamawa State through the expansion of DSR Numan sugar refining capacity from 3,000 tons of cane per day (tcd) to 6,000 tcd, 9,800 tcd and to 15,000 tcd.

Noting that increasing the sugar refining capacity will require a corresponding increase in sugarcane production capacity, he revealed that the company has concluded plans to increase its sugar plantation from the current land area under cane production of about 8,700 hectares in 2022 to about 24,200 hectares within the next 7 years. He also assured that the company will double its scholarship and empowerment schemes in its host communities. 

“We will continue to introduce more initiatives to support our host communities. Through these initiatives and our numerous Corporate Social Responsibility activities which are numerous to mention, DSR Numan will be able to touch the lives of the people, bringing social, economic, and infrastructural development to our host communities.” 

He said: “We are thus committing over $700 million to our investment in the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) to enable us to put in place needed infrastructure for the eventual commencement of full-scale production,” he said.  

Dangote further assured that Dangote Sugar will change the trajectory by making Nigeria self-sufficient in the sector.  

Already, the company noted that it has spent billions of naira in developing infrastructural facilities for host communities.   

Speaking, also at the event, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo described the Dangote Refinery as the biggest contributor to the sugar development stride of the Federal Government.  

The Minister also commended Aliko Dangote and the Management staff of Dangote Sugar for their massive support through the company’s corporate social responsibility scheme which he said should be highly commended.  

He said Agencies under his ministry will partner with the company to provide the technical know-how that will support the Dangote empowerment schemes in the host communities.  

In the same vein, Governor of Adamawa State, Umaru Fintiri who was represented by his Deputy Crowther Seth said he was amazed by the social-economic transformation carried out by the Dangote Group, adding that it is monumental. He assured the company of the support of the state government and enjoined other corporate bodies to imbibe Dangote’s spirit of job creation across the country. 

Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, Hama Bachama   Dr. Daniel Shaga Ismail described Dangote as God-sent and pledged that his people would continue to support the company.  

Aliko Dangote further announced a Free Education for all the students of Dangote Sugar Refinery High School, among other scholarship winners announced.   

The overall best Outgrower farmer, Christiana Rufus thanked the company and promised not to relent in her effort. 

Six farmers mostly women emerged as overall best farmers in the contest. 

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The Group is investing hugely in raw sugar production as part of the Federal Government Sugar Master Plan. 

This is coming on the back of $500m that has so far been injected into the project in Nasarawa.   

National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has developed a road map for the realization of self-sufficiency in the sugar sector within a short time. Thus, the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) gave birth to Sugar’s Backward Integration Policy (BIP).   

Billions of naira have been expended in social intervention schemes around the communities hosting DSR Numan in Adamawa, and Tunga Sugar Project in Nasarawa.   

The company said with 78,000 hectares of farmland in Nasarawa, and 32,000 hectares in Adamawa, it is creating thousands of employment opportunities for Nigerians.   

Currently, over 600 workers are being engaged, while 90MW is to be generated in the Dangote Sugar Project in Tunga, Nasarawa State.  

The Dangote Group is the second largest employer of labour after the federal government.   

While speaking at a recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, the Chairman of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Aliko Dangote, noted that Nigeria could rake in foreign exchange of up to $700 million yearly from the BIP scheme.  

He warned that the BIP scheme must be protected to insulate the Nigerian economy and create jobs.  

“If the national sugar master plan is followed strictly and the players follow the rules, the country will be better for it as Nigeria will save between $600 million and $700 million annually as forex,” he said.  

A statement from the Corporate Communication Department of the company said when the factory is fully operational; it would have the capacity to crush 12,000 tons of cane per day,   

Some of the Corporate Social Responsibility projects executed include the provision of blocks of classrooms, scholarship, water scheme, rehabilitation and opening up of road network, and construction of health center, among others.   

Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment Otunba Niyi Adebayo who was on a working tour of the Dangote’s expansive Savannah Sugar Company (SSCL) Ltd in Numan, Adamawa State, and the Tunga sugar project site in Nasarawa State, had described the projects as “huge, impressive and amazing.”  

The Minister said: “It’s a very impressive sight.  It’s amazing that such a project exists in this place. What we’ve seen so far from all the plantations we’ve been to is very impressive. We are impressed with the level of work they are doing.”  

In the same vein, in the DSR Numan, the company is not resting on its oars.   

In 2020, the company constructed multimillion naira blocks of classrooms, administration blocks, and an examination hall.   

DSR Numan has also intervened in the provision of electricity through the donation of 300KVA to the Gyawana Community, as well as the donation of a 27KVA Generator to the Lamurde Community.   

The company has also instituted an out-grower scheme in DSR Numan, of which 294 people have so far benefited.    

Its intervention in the area of road infrastructure has been very huge, some of which include: the rehabilitation of the Gyawana-Lamurde road, Gyawana-Zekun road  

Gyawana Township road, the rehabilitation of Dubwangun road, and the rehabilitation of Opalo-Zekun roads, among others.   

The company has also doled out financial support to youth, religion, and development-based groups in Adamawa State. 

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President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote explained recently in a chat with newsmen that it was embarking on Phase II of its Sugar project, which will then cover over 100,000ha to make the sugar plant, the largest in Africa.

Dangote said that the integrated sugar complex to be located in Tunga, Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, comprises 60,000ha sugar plantation and two sugar factories with the capacity to produce 430,000 tonnes of refined white sugar per annum.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s shipping data revealed that Auarius Honor and Ocean Crown would be at Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL), a subsidiary of Dangote Group to offload 45,850 tonnes and 46,750 tonnes respectively. Following high demand in the food and drinks sector, GDNL took delivery of 187,000 tonnes from four vessels in May this year.

At the terminal, Common Galaxy came with 48,800 tonnes; Bonny Island, 47,200 tonnes; Chayanee Naree, 46,000 tonnes, and Karteria Bluesrar, 45,000 tonnes. Also, in April, the terminal took delivery of 91,600 tonnes when Unity Bluestar offloaded 47,200 tonnes and Ecoatlantic, 44,400 tonnes.

The NPA shipping data also noted that 67,000 tonnes of sugar were offloaded at ENL Consortium and GDNL, noting that the ENL terminal took delivery of 20,000 tonnes from Doro, while Baltic Mantis discharged 47,000 tonnes at GDNL.

It added that Genco Picardy arrived with 46,500 tonnes in February, while two vessels offloaded 101,422 tonnes in January, stressing that Desert Calm berthed with 55,352 tonnes and Pauline, 46,070 tonnes. Finding from Index Mundi, a trade portal revealed that the country has already imported 965,000 metric tonnes of raw this year.

Also, the country imported $1.82 billion beet sugar, sugar syrups, and other sugar confectionery in the last two years. Sugar is currently on the list of commodities on the foreign exchange restriction list of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Also, statistics from Trade Data Monitor (TDM) based on the Brazilian Foreign Trade explained that Brazil exports rose from $458.9 million in 2019 to $702.8 million in 2020.

According to TDM, Brazil’s cumulative raw sugar exports to Nigeria in 2020/21 season was 1.62 million tonnes, while domestic cane sugar production has slumped from 75,000  tonnes to 70,000 tonnes, about 6.7 percent decline within one year. The country had projected to meet 800,000 tonnes target of raw sugar production by 2022 as demand by the food and drink manufacturing and retail markets is on the increase.

However, Nigeria could not meet up to five percent target as data from National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) revealed that in 2016, local production of refined sugar was 25,000 tonnes; 2017, 20,184 tonnes; 2018, 14,918 tonnes and 2019, 28,597 tonnes; 2020, 75,000 tonnes and 2021, 75,000 tonnes.

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Speaking to shareholders at the 16^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Dangote Sugar Plc, in Lagos the Chairman of the Company, Aliko Dangote, said that despite the harsh operating environment, the board and management were not deterred in the pursuit of sustainable growth for the company and demonstrated resilience by continued implementation of its strategic objectives during the year, 2021.

The dividend pay-out of N12.147 billion for the year was unanimously approved by the shareholders.  The dividend represents N1.00 per share.

The Company under review posted a Group turnover of N276 billion, being 29 percent increase over N214 billion in the comparative year. Profit before tax of N34.021 billion, profit after tax of N22.052 billion. Group EBITDA decreased to N46.5 billion with an EBITDA margin of 18 percent.

According to Dangote, the Company’s performance during the year under review is commendable amidst the challenges and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic activities. “We furthered the implementation of process optimisation, cost savings, and product promotion strategies with the launch of our new brand identity and the pursuit of the Dangote Sugar Backward integration master plan.” 

He further stated that the Board and Management will continue to implement strategic actions to sustain and surpass this performance while engaging with all stakeholders in the sector and its communities to ensure the realisation of the objectives of the Company.

On the company’s backward integration project, Dangote chairman emphasized that the goal of Dangote Sugar Backward Integration Projects Master plan remains the achievement of 1.5 million MT annually from locally grown sugar cane in support of the quest for sugar sufficiency in the country by the federal government. 

He added that this will be achieved in addition to the extended value chain benefits that will be derived from the projects including thousands of jobs that will be generated in the sector from these projects.

He pointed out that despite the challenges faced in the year 2021, Dangote Sugar Numan Operations rehabilitation and expansion efforts of the factory and field are advancing, saying “The community tissues that came up were effectively managed, and we have continued to advance so far without any major disruptions.”

He also noted that “In 2021, our commitment to building a sustainable business remained on track with the principles of good corporate governance. We imbibed best practices, environmental and impact management in the day-today running of our business.”

He assured of the company’s commitment to the achievement of Sugar Backward integration projects, which is the future of the industry in Nigeria, saying this will keep us on our sustained growth path and we will continue to deliver and improve our quality service while delivering value to all stakeholders.

Also, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive officer of Dangote Sugar, Mr. Ravindra Singhvi said that “We remained ahead of the pack in implementation of the National Sugar backward Integration Development Master Plan.”

He however said that the situation at the Lau/Tau project is still the same, “we continue to remain hopeful that the Taraba State government will resolve the lingering issues with the communities, while we focus on the development of other brown and green field project sites…Steady progress is now being made as we continue the rehabilitation and expansion project at Dangote Sugar, Numan, and development activities at the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, Tunga.” 

Singhvi stated that the Company remains resolute and committed to ensuring a sustainable future for its business while assuring the shareholders of better days ahead.

The shareholders commended the Company’s performance for the year under review. A shareholder, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, commended the company for the food fortification award received for the year under review and the bountiful dividend paid.

Another shareholder, Mr Patrick Ajudua, also expressed satisfaction with dividends declared particularly at a time like this with the various environmental operating challenges.

He charged the management to improve upon the capacity utilisation of the plant to be better positioned to meet local and export needs.

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