Sugar production in Zimbabwe is down by 4 percent

Source: Sugar production down 4pc | The Herald (Business News) Enacy Mapakame-Business Reporter Zimbabwe’s raw sugar production for the half year to September 30, 2023, fell by 4 percent to 281 231 tonnes compared to 293 050 tonnes achieved in the same period last year. The national output was weighed down by the largest producer, Hippo Valley Estates, which had a 7 percent slowdown in production due to the reduced volume of cane crushed and decreased mill time efficiencies, with “lost time available” (a measure of plant reliability) increasing to 14,7 percent following low cane throughput in the early weeks of the milling season. The period under review had its challenges, which affected industry performance. According to Hippo Valley chief executive officer Aiden Mhere, the suspension of duties on basic commodities, including sugar, for twelve of the past eighteen months, has resulted in an influx of cheaper imported sugar, which has displaced locally produced sugar in the ...