Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc dismiss rumours of potential sugar shortage 

Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc assures the general public that rumours circulating through social media insinuating that there is a potential shortage of sugar is false.

The social media report, that is authored as if it’s coming from inside Illovo itself, is warning people to stock pile sugar in their homes, saying the company is struggling to make sugar because the 2 Cyclones — Ana and Gombe — caused some sugarcane to gather mud and thus causing the factory to have frequent breakdowns.

This, the rumour said, could lead to supply being low shortly but the company assures its customers, consumers and the general public that both mills have commenced production.

“The company would also like to inform its customers, consumers and general public that it is common practice for cane haulage to be affected during the early part of the season due to wet fields but mitigating measures are in place to facilitate cane supply to the factory.

“Cane haulage usually resumes expeditiously as soon as excess water has drained off and it is safe for the haulage vehicles to access the fields.

“This is done as a safety measure to avoid vehicles being stuck in the fields. This however, does not automatically signify a looming sugar shortage as the factory continues to produce sugar from the sugar cane already available in its factory yard.

“This is a common occurrence and is planned for on an annual basis,” said the press statement from the company.

Recently, the company was also forced to clarity that it has not increased prices of its sugar products following some concerns raised by the general public through social media that indicated that prices of sugar have gone up in various outlets.

The company maintained that the recommendation retail price for 1kg packet of Brown Sugar remains at K900 and for 1kg of White Sugar packet is still K930, but some traders were selling at an inflated price.

When the company unveiled its financial report last month, it indicated due to some favourable economic factors the country faced some three years ago before CoVID-19 pandemic hit the country, it reduced prices of sugar to K800.00 per 1kg packet.

Since then it has risen slowly and back to K900 for 1kg packet of Brown Sugar and K930.00 for 1kg of White Sugar packet, which has been maintained for the past year.

In his comment Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc Managing Director, Lekani Katandula: “Our prices have been reasonably stable for the past three years considering that due to many economic factors the country is facing, other products on the general market have been going up as of late.”

Illovo also emphasized that it has official means of communication of all its affairs that affect the customer and any developments is officially shared that reaches out to every corner of the country.

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