RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s domestic output of sugar beet and cane in 2012 may account for less than the 30 percent of domestic sugar needs they covered last year due to bad weather conditions, the head of the country’s sole sugar refiner said on Wednesday.
“Last year, Cosumar relied for around 30 percent of its sugar production on the domestic production of beet and cane,” Mohamed Fikrat, Chief Executive of private Cosumar told Reuters.
“For this year, I think that percentage will be lower,” added Fikrat, who cited a drop in sugar beet-planted areas and bad wather conditions as the main reasons for the expected fall in the local output of sugar plants this year.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a global conference on food security in Rabat. Morocco’s annual sugar needs stand at around 1.2 million tonnes.
This should mean that Cosumar would rely on increased imports of raw sugar to fill the shortfall caused by the drop its sugar production from local beet and cane harvest.
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