Dangote Sugar invests over US$700M to end Nigeria’s sugar import dependence
The company strengthens its backward integration plan and unveils new product SKUs to boost local sugar production.
NIGERIA – Dangote Sugar Refinery has announced an investment of over US$700 million in land acquisition, machinery, infrastructure, manpower, community engagement, and other strategic initiatives aimed at achieving Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in sugar production and ending raw sugar imports.
Group Chief Executive Officer Ravindra Singhvi revealed the investment while unveiling the company’s new Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), explaining that the initiative aligns with Dangote’s intensified implementation of its sugar backward integration programme.
According to Singhvi, the new SKUs, introduced as part of the group’s food subsidiary portfolio, are available in 100g, 250g, 500g, and 1kg packs to cater to diverse consumer needs.
Fatima Aliko-Dangote, Executive Director of Commercial Operations at Dangote Group, reaffirmed the conglomerate’s commitment to Nigeria’s full-scale industrialisation.
She said the company’s focus remains on adding value to raw materials, diversifying the economy, creating jobs, and fostering the growth of ancillary industries to support the nation’s industrial development.
Despite the implementation of the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) since 2010, Nigeria’s sugar import bill has continued to rise.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), sugar imports cost the country N2.2 trillion between 2020 and 2025, compared to N516.61 billion between 2015 and 2019.
The NSMP, renewed in 2020, targets the elimination of sugar imports through private-sector-led investments, aiming to establish 28 sugar factories and cultivate 250,000 hectares of sugarcane nationwide.
In a regional expansion effort, Dangote Sugar announced in May 2025 plans to construct a major sugar-processing complex in Kwame-Danso, Bono Region, Ghana.
The project will feature a 12,000-ton-per-day crushing plant and 25,000 hectares of irrigated farmland to produce refined sugar, ethanol, and molasses.
For the nine months ending 30 September 2025, Dangote Sugar reported a 29% increase in revenue to N626.24 billion (US$434.4 million), up from N484.43 billion in the same period of 2024.
Despite this, the company recorded a loss after tax of N10.59 billion (US$7.35 million)—a significant improvement from the N184.36 billion (US$127.89 million) loss posted a year earlier.
Gross profit rose sharply to N90.06 billion (US$62.89M), driven by improved sales volumes and tighter cost control, while administrative expenses increased to N20.53 billion (US$8.21M) due to expanded operational activities.
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