Nigeria is targeting annual sugar production of more than 2 million metric tonnes through 13 existing and proposed sugar projects across the country.
The Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Kamar Bakrin, disclosed this at a news conference organised by the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) in Abuja.
Bakrin said the projects comprise three existing operators and 10 proposed new sugar estates across eight states, with the combined capacity expected to exceed the country’s annual sugar consumption of about 1.8 million metric tonnes.
He added that Nigeria’s two operating sugar mills produced about 27,000 tonnes of sugar in the previous season, while more than 97% of the country’s sugar consumption was met through refining imported raw sugar.
Nigeria’s three major sugar refiners have a combined installed refining capacity of 3.69 million metric tonnes per annum. Dangote Sugar Refinery has an installed capacity of 1.44 million tonnes, BUA Sugar has 1.5 million tonnes, while Golden Sugar Company has 750,000 tonnes.
The NSDC also lists 2024 quota allocations of 650,000 tonnes for Dangote Sugar, 550,000 tonnes for BUA Foods and 500,000 tonnes for Golden Sugar Company, totalling 1.7 million tonnes.
These figures represent quota allocations, not actual production. The country’s two operating sugar mills produced a combined 30,987 tonnes of sugar in the 2024/25 crushing season, according to the NSDC.
The council has also validated 1.2 million hectares of land considered suitable for sugar production, compared with the estimated 250,000 hectares required for Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency.
Bakrin said the proposed estates would produce sugar, ethanol and electricity to diversify revenue streams and improve the commercial viability of the projects.
Outgrower programme targets 11,000 hectares
The NSDC is also targeting 11,000 hectares of farmer-grown sugarcane under its Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme, which is designed to support production around existing sugar mills.
He added that the programme would create about 110,000 direct and indirect jobs and support more than one million livelihoods across the sugar value chain.
The latest production target builds on other government-backed efforts to expand Nigeria’s domestic sugar industry and reduce dependence on imports.
Nairametrics also reported in August 2025 that the NSDC had signed agreements with four operators to develop sugar estates with a combined projected annual production capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes.
