Flour Mills Of Nigeria Increases Stake In Nigeria's Sugar Value Chain

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has announced its increased investment in the Nigeria sugar value chain with the expansion of Sunti Golden Sugar estates by acquiring an additional 5,200 hectares at Sunti.

The company stated that the investment is a move that further reaffirms its commitment to the backward integration strategy of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan as well as the overall growth of the sugar industry in Nigeria. The additional land acquisition brings the total size of the Sunti estates to 22,000 hectares of land.

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Flour Mills of Nigeria, in a corporate disclosure on Nigeria Exchange Group on Wednesday, said that the development will immensely increase the production capacity of the sugar estate as it will also translate into the expansion of the sugar production capacity of the mill. Also, the company upland acquisition will bring the total land size of Sunti Golden Sugar Estate substantially to 22,000 hectares of land while the total land area under cane will be 15,000 hectares.

It noted that akin to the first phase of the development plan of the estate, about 10 neighbouring communities who will be impacted by the additional land acquisition have fully signed up to the development plan of Sunti.

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“These communities will now benefit from an additional 15 kilometres of all-weather, heavy-duty road that is already under construction, expanded youth job opportunities, including the extension of our out-grower scheme that empowers farmers, and a number of other social infrastructure projects that will improve lives.

FMN said its subsidiary — Golden Sugar Company that operates the estate is expected to have over 25,000 hectares of land under cane, including proposed investments of a sugar mill in Nasarawa State. This will result in the production of approximately 250,000 tonnes of sugar per year, significantly increase local sugar production, reduce dependence on food imports, and save foreign exchange.