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Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, the company owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has responded to allegations that it plans to restrict sugar sales to create an artificial shortage, as claimed by Nigeria’s second richest man, Abdul Samad Rabiu.
BUA Foods Plc had encouraged online media to publish articles alleging that Dangote Sugar had suspended sugar sales in a bid to create artificial scarcity, force prices to rise artificially, profiteer even more, and blackmail the government into reviewing the denial of allocations to another competitor due to compliance issues, according to the company.
Dangote Sugar Refinery has responded by rejecting and dismissing these allegations, claiming that such claims tend to mislead the public and give an undue competitive edge to BUA Foods Plc.
Recall that BUA Foods Plc issued a statement claiming that the company has distanced itself from any plan to artificially scarcity sugar in the country as a result of a decision by the two major sugar producers to suspend sales.
The notice also stated, “We have been inundated with calls from our customers that Dangote Sugar and Flour Mills have both suspended sales of Sugar, seeking to know if BUA will follow suit. We would like to reassure our customers that BUA is not joining the suspension of sales of sugar”.
A statement which prompted a response from the Dangote camp, according to the statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the company expressed the belief that the allegations by BUA Foods Plc are not only worrisome but appears to conflict with the anti-competition rules.
It said, “Last year, just before the commencement of the Ramadan (the Islamic holy month of fasting), BUA made similar false allegations against the Company that it was engaged in ‘price-fixing’ and not honestly pursuing the Backward Integration Project”.
As a result, the company says it is refuting the false allegations and has filed formal complaints with the Anti-Competition Commission, which is currently investigating the case.
Dangote Sugar conclusively indicated that its sugar supply will continue to satisfy market demand and that it has made the required supply chain and logistical investments/arrangements to guarantee that its ability to fulfill current market demands is not jeopardized.
According to the disclosure, “Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. remains the highest Sugar supplier in the market today, with over 1.44m MT installed capacity at our Apapa Refinery and we are the only company producing sugar from own grown sugarcane under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) at the Numan operations in Yola, Adamawa State. We remain committed to fair play and good governance and would continue to supply Sugar to the market without interruptions”.
Fatimah Oyesanmi
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