Illovo weighs in on cane prices
Illovo Sugar Malawi has partly attributed the misunderstanding between the firm and cane growers over prices to low output due to mismanagement in some farms.
The firm said some of the sugarcane growers who produce enough cane with quality still make the most of the opportunity.
Cane growers especially in Dwangwa have been complaining about low prices Illovo Sugar has been offering for the commodity.
But speaking during an investors’ forum, Illovo Sugar Malawi Managing Director Lekani Katandula said an analysis the firm conducted shows that prices, especially in Dwangwa, remained significantly low due to low quality.
“The challenge is lack of agricultural management in Dwangwa not our prices,” Katandula said.
Cane Growers Association of Malawi President Fryton Njolomole agreed with Katandula that farmers in Dwangwa manage farms on their own through associations which may indeed be different from those in theShire Valley.
“This is a long-standing issue but we have developed the Bugar Bill which will control the market and bring sanity. It was drafted in 2014 and has been into different departments but we are happy to say it is in its final stages at the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.
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