Mauritania signs US$446M sugar project deal to boost local production, cut imports
Mauritania partners with Sudan’s Al Badri Group to develop a sugar agro-industrial complex aimed at reducing import dependence.
MAURITANIA – Mauritania’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and Ministry of Agriculture have signed a public-private partnership agreement with a consortium led by Sudanese conglomerate Al Badri to establish a large-scale agro-industrial complex focused on sugar production.
Al Badri operates across the agro-industry and energy sectors.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the initiative will involve an estimated investment of US$446 million and will be located in the Foum Gleita region in the south of the country. The project is expected to significantly contribute to domestic sugar production.
The development’s initial phase will focus on the exploitation of a 17,000-hectare agricultural zone, using water from the Foum Gleita dam—the largest in Mauritania—for irrigating sugarcane plantations.
Authorities expect this infrastructure to support the cultivation and processing of sugarcane on a scale that could meet over half of the country’s current consumption needs.
The agreement outlines that production is set to begin within three years, with the project’s full term extending to 30 years. Government officials say the initiative could eventually cover up to 63% of national sugar demand, targeting an output of around 250,000 tonnes per year.
Mauritania currently imports all of its sugar requirements, making the commodity the second-largest food import after edible oils.
Between 2019 and 2023, the country imported an annual average of 398,800 tonnes of white sugar, according to data from the General Directorate of Customs.
Until the project is operational, Mauritania is expected to continue relying heavily on imports.
In May 2025, sugar imports from Brazil alone rose by 95.6% year-on-year to US$22.5 million, compared to US$11.5 million in the same month the previous year.
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