Thursday, 09 August 2012 17:25
Posted by Shoaib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui
NAIROBI: Kenya's sugar production is expected to rise 16.49 percent this year, despite a shaky first-half performance caused by a shortage of cane and inefficiency at the under-funded state-owned factories, the industry regulator said on Thursday.
The east African nation is expected to produce 567,364 tonnes of sugar in 2012, up from last year's 487,022 tonnes, a potential record, the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) said, citing good weather.
The regulator said sugar production over the first six months of 2012 slumped 9 percent to 286,202 tonnes compared with the same period last year, hit by poor cane supplies.
"There is improved weather that is expected to boost availability of bigger supplies of quality cane for crushing," KSB said in a regular report.
"Growers have also invested in better practices such as planting of higher yielding varieties that would uplift overall performance."
KSB blamed the low output in the first-half to an acute sugarcane shortage especially ...
753
NAIROBI: Kenya's sugar production is expected to rise 16.49 percent this year, despite a shaky first-half performance caused by a shortage of cane and inefficiency at the under-funded state-owned factories, the industry regulator said on Thursday.
The east African nation is expected to produce 567,364 tonnes of sugar in 2012, up from last year's 487,022 tonnes, a potential record, the Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) said, citing good weather.
The regulator said sugar production over the first six months of 2012 slumped 9 percent to 286,202 tonnes compared with the same period last year, hit by poor cane supplies.
"There is improved weather that is expected to boost availability of bigger supplies of quality cane for crushing," KSB said in a regular report.
"Growers have also invested in better practices such as planting of higher yielding varieties that would uplift overall performance."
KSB blamed the low output in the first-half to an acute sugarcane shortage especially ...
KAMPALA: Uganda's coffee exports dropped to 307,921 60-Kg bags in July from 375,843 bags a year ago, after farmers withheld their crop in the hope that prices would rise later, a source at the state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Tuesday.
Copyright Reuters, 2012 ...
LONDON: Nigerian crude oil differentials strengthened on Monday as tight supplies of light, sweet grades combined with fairly strong demand into Asia and from western refiners.
Only 10 cargoes of benchmark Qua Iboe crude are due to load in September in Nigeria's total programme of 62 cargoes loading an average of 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd). This compares with 12 cargoes of Qua Iboe in August in a programme of 74 cargoes loading 2.03 million ...
RABAT: Morocco's state-run grains authority ONICL will tender mid-August for the purchase of up to 300,000 tonnes of EU-origin soft wheat as part of a preferential tariff agreement, the agency said on Thursday.
ONICL will open bids for the tender on August 15, ONICL said in a statement.
The wheat must come in lots of at least 5,000 tonnes each and a deadline for its delivery is set for December 31, 2012, ONICL added. Last week, ONICL ...
ABIDJAN: Exports of cotton from Ivory Coast totalled 176,319 tonnes from January to June, up about 227 percent compared with the same period last year, provisional port data showed on Tuesday.
Analysts said the rise was due to a resumption of cotton shipments from regional neighbours, who traditionally export via the port of Abidjan, as well as deliveries from the cotton campaign currently under way in Ivory Coast.
A post-election conflict in Ivory Coast last year hindered ...
DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania's coffee prices rose at last week's auction, buoyed by strong demand for robusta beans from exporters, the regulator Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) said on Monday.
State-run TCB said 17,793 60-kg bags were offered at the latest sale and 13,711 bags were sold.
At the previous sale, a total of 14,264 60-kg bags were up for sale, with 14,117 bags sold.
All the robusta bags on offer at the auction were sold, pointing to high ...
NAIROBI: The top price of Kenya's benchmark coffee grade AA rose at this week's sale to $331 per 50 kg bag from $325 at the previous auction, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) said on Wednesday.
Although Kenya is a small coffee producer compared to producers such as Brazil and Vietnam, its speciality beans are much sought after for blending with those from other countries.
The NCE said in its weekly report that grade AA fetched $331-$188 per ...
