Dangote Sugar Refinery is ramping up efforts to reduce Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported raw sugar, channeling more than $700 million into an ambitious expansion plan designed to strengthen domestic production.
The investment—spread across land acquisition, new machinery, factory upgrades, workforce development, and extensive community programmes—marks one of the boldest private-sector commitments to Nigeria’s sugar-sector reform.
The company showcased new 100g, 250g, 500g, and 1kg retail sugar packs at the Lagos International Trade Fair, reinforcing a broader strategy to deepen backward integration.
The Executive Director of Commercial Operations, Fatima Aliko-Dangote stated that the expansion underscores the group’s focus on industrialisation, job creation, and economic diversification at a time when foreign exchange pressures have made local production more urgent.
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With new product lines and increased refining capacity, Dangote Sugar aims to help reshape Nigeria’s sugar market and reduce the billions spent on imports each year.
Nigeria currently consumes about 1.7 million tonnes of sugar annually but produces only a fraction of that. World Bank COMTRADE data shows the country imported over 825,000 tonnes of raw sugar in 2023, and between July 2024 and June 2025, it spent ₦953.9 billion on sugar imports.
In March 2025 alone, imports hit 98,000 metric tonnes.
Dangote Sugar plans to produce 700,000 tonnes locally within five years—an expansion expected to create more than 75,000 jobs across its value chain.
Group CEO Ravindra Singhvi said the investment aligns with Nigeria’s sugar-backward integration framework, noting that the refinery is accelerating field development and factory capacity with a long-term target of producing up to 1.5 million metric tonnes of refined sugar annually. The company’s financial performance has strengthened despite economic headwinds. Chairman Aliko Dangote told shareholders that revenue grew 51% to ₦665.6 billion in 2024, up from ₦441.5 billion the previous year.
Acting AGM Chair Bennedikter Molokwu said the result reflects resilience amid inflation, currency volatility, and broader macroeconomic challenges.
With nearly 1.5 million tonnes in combined refining capacity and a sustained multi-year investment strategy, Dangote Sugar is positioning itself at the forefront of Nigeria’s push toward sugar self-sufficiency and reduced import dependence.
