Africa-Press – Malawi. Local sugar manufacturer, Illovo Sugar Malawi, has indicated that the recent floods in Nkhotakota may affect operations at its Dwangwa factory in the district, which, in turn, threatens production of sugar this year.
This comes as, already, the country is experiencing sugar supply shortages due to reduced production last year. Retail shops are rationing the commodity to a packet per customer.
In an interview the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting in Blantyre last week, Illovo Sugar Malawi Chairman Jimmy Lipunga said an assessment is being done to determine the level of impact of the floods on the company’s infrastructure.
“I have seen some pictures. They do point to the potential of serious damage to some of the fields and some infrastructure. We have houses and roads; so, any impact of these will result in adverse effects on the company’s operations,” Lipunga said.
During a recent investor engagement forum, Illovo Sugar Managing Director Lekani Katandula said the recent sugar supply shortage on the market was due to low production, which stemmed from effects of last year’s Cyclone Freddy.
“The cyclone (Freddy) affected most of our fields, which we did not detect at the start because, for example, where we planted 1,000 sugarcane plants, we had 700 or so that grew; so, we could see that the plant is there but not knowing that so much has been destroyed by the floods.
“Some were washed away and, indeed, some part of the soil became degraded, which affected total sugarcane production, let alone sugar production,” Katandula said.
Among other things, the floods In Nkhotakota have rendered the M5 lakeshore road impassable after washing away four sections at Kaombe, Walemera, Dwangwa and Mkoma.
Member of Parliament for Nkhotakota North Constituency, Henry Chimunthu Banda, said the damaged road may affect transportation of raw materials, especially sugarcane, to the company’s factory, hence the need to speedy reconstruction.
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