Uganda expects sugar production to rise 17 percent this year to 428,000 tonnes, helped by improved rainfall that is likely to boost cane output, an industry official said on Thursday. The East African country has a small but thriving sugar production sector, with Kakira Sugar Works, Sugar Corporation of Uganda Ltd (SCOUL) and Kinyara Sugar Works the main producers.
Wilberforce Mubiru, secretariat manager at Uganda Sugar Manufacturers' Association, said total production for last year was 365,452 tonnes. "In 2017, we had low cane supply but now the rains are there, we expect cane production to be significantly higher," he told Reuters in an interview. "Good weather and good cane supply is the reason we hope this year should surpass last year in terms of sugar output." Each of the three big factories has a large estate, which accounts for the bulk of supply, usually surrounded by farmers contracted to supplement cane supplies, known as outgrowers.