African countries cut sugar imports due to higher prices

Sugar imports to Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria, Africa's biggest buyers, fell 1% from a year earlier as prices soared. Bloomberg reports this with reference to a study by the Australian soft drink manufacturer Green Pool. Cuts in sugar production by the world's largest producers pushed wholesale prices to their highest levels in more than 12 years in September, the agency said. As a result, sugar also rose in price in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, according to commodities research group Kulea. It is noted that sugar consumption in Kenya fell by 42% between January and June this year. The consumption of alcoholic beverages is also reduced. Some restaurants are replacing sugar with honey in an attempt to cut costs. Experts attribute the rise in sugar prices to the fact that African countries spent dollar reserves to buy grain and fertilizers amid high prices and faced a shortage of currency. This has reduced the ability of some countries to increase imports, according to ...