Leading food and agro-allied brand, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, has announced the upland acquisition of an additional 5,200 hectares of land in Sunti Golden Sugar Estates located in Mokwa, Niger state, in line with its expansion plans.
The company also revealed that the total projected cost to achieve this bold plan is set at a minimum of about N160 billion, including the new Sugar mill at Nasarawa.
According to a statement issued by the leading agro-allied company, the acquisition of the land is in line with Flour Mills’ commitment to the backward integration strategy of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), and the overall growth vision of the Sugar industry in the country.
The new 5,200 hectares of land acquired by the flour miller will expand the total land size of Sunti Golden Sugar Estates to about 22,000 hectares of land, with the total land area under cane cultivation now coming up to 15,000 hectares.
This expansion is coming on the heels of claims on its involvement in price-fixing and arbitrary collusion to create sugar scarcity were made against the company in a letter written by the founder of the BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu to the Minister of Industry, Trade and investment, Niyi Adebayo.
Abdulsamad in his letter added that among the three players in the Nigerian sugar industry, only BUA Sugar Refinery has made serious investment commitment to the backward integration strategy of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).
Other proposed investment in this line will ensure that production is ramped up to approximately 250,000 tonnes of sugar per year. This will significantly increase local sugar production, reduce dependence on food imports, and save the country’s foreign exchange.
