A one-day Consultation on Ethiopian Sugar Industry Reform, organized by the Ministry of Finance, was held in Addis Ababa on 27 November 2019.
ADDIS ABABA (ENA) – The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s (FDRE) Ministry of Finance announced on 27 November 2019 that six sugar projects I the country will be privatized in the first quarter of 2020.
Finance State Minister, Eyob Tekalign Tolina, PhD, told journalists that the country is conducting technical assessment, validation of factories, and social impact assessments for all the 13 sugar projects, of which the six will be privatized in the first quarter of 2020. The assessments on the projects are expected to be completed by the end of next month, Dr. Eyob added.
According to Dr. Eyob, all the necessary information has been gathered, as much as possible, from potential buyers in order to commence the first phase of privatization.
“We will announce open, transparent and competitive bid process for these sugar projects as the government has encouraged the participation of the private sector and inflow of private capital into the economy,” Dr. Eyob explained.
The State Minister admitted that the effort to expand sugar factories has brought no result, except accumulated debt overburden in the country, despite the huge investment made by the government. The Ethiopian Reporter reported in August 2019 that the 13 sugar projects carry a total debt of some 70 billion birr.
The privatization of the sugar industry sub-sector will help exploit the country’s potential for sugar production, Dr. Eyob said, adding that the transfer of means of production “will increase produce of factories to meet growing local demands as well as export sugar to regional and international markets.”
The Ethiopian Sugar Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Weyo Roba said on his part a well-designed policy and regulatory framework has been put in place to protect the domestic industry from distorted international price.
The regulation will create different price regime between domestic and export markets and ensure equitable export obligations among producers, Ato Weyo revealed.
The one-day Consultation on Ethiopian Sugar Industry Reform, which was held on 27 November 2019 at Sheraton Addis Hotel, was aimed at reviewing and enriching a draft sugar policy and proclamation to reform the sugar industry in Ethiopia.
In April 2019, the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation has released a Request for Information [RFI] for Sugar Corporation pre-privatization process, which can be found here.
Source: ENA