TheCable

Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, says Nigeria is currently losing at least 300,000 tonnes of sugar to smuggling annually.

He also said the smuggling activities in the sugar industry has hindered the employment of at least 250,000 Nigerians, adding that it has also led to economic sabotage.

According to NAN, he made this known during the Dangote Sugar Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos on Tuesday.

He noted that negative activities made 2018 a challenging year for the company while identifying the influx of smuggled sugar into key markets nationwide as one of such activities.

According to him, the Apapa gridlock also affected the evacuation of products from the refinery and constrained logistics operations, distribution, and delivery to customers.

He said that the performance of Savannah Sugar Company, a subsidiary of Dangote group,  was impacted by communal clashes between the host community and herdsmen which led to the closure of the company for more than three months.

He, however, said despite the challenges, the company continued to post resilient performance.

He disclosed that the company achieved a group turnover of N150.4 billion, a 26 percent decrease over N204.4 billion posted in 2017.

According to him, the company made a profit before tax of N34.6 billion, and a profit after tax of N22 billion Naira.

Ravindra Singhvi, chief operating officer, Dangote Sugar Refinery, said that the future outlook for the company was to continue to leverage on its strength.

He said that the company would maximize the opportunity to generate sales, increase market share and create sustainable value for all stakeholders.

Singhvi said that though the terrain remains challenging, the company was committed to rapidly adapting to market changes and employ numerous levers to mitigate major effects on performance in the years ahead.