South Africa’s Tongaat-Hulett group intends investing another R1,3-billion in sugar production in Mozambique, said Mozambican news agency AIM on Thursday.
Tongaat-Hulett is a shareholder in two Mozambican sugar companies, at Xinavane in Maputo province and Mafambisse in Sofala.
It owns 49% of the Xinavane mill and said it intends to increase this to 88%.
Most of the investment — R1,163-billion — will go to Xinavane, aiming to increase sugar production from 61 000 tonnes in 2005 to 180 000 tonnes in 2009.
Most of the sugar is expected to be exported to the European Union in terms of Mozambique’s duty- and quota-free access under the Everything-But-Arms initiative for Least Developed Countries, Tongaat-Hulett CEO Peter Staude told AIM.
The expansion is expected to create 6 638 new jobs in Xinavane and 2 145 in Mafambisse. – Sapa