ABOUT 2,990 tonnes of sugar which were found at PMM Estates (2001) Limited-Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday belonged to Tanzania Commodities Trading Company Limited, it has been confirmed.
The joint statement issued in Dar es
Salaam by Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited (MeTL) and Tanzania
Commodities Trading Company Limited said the consignment was not
hoarded.
“The consignment was in transit to
Uganda but because of scarcity of sugar in the country the product was
preserved to be supplied in local market,” hinted Mr Murtaza Dewji, the
owner of Tanzania Commodities Trading Company Limited. The clarification
comes after previous reports suggested that MeTL had hoarded the sugar
to create an artificial scarcity in the country.
“Tanzania Commodities Trading Company
Limited had followed all the necessary steps for the consignment to be
exported to Uganda, including seeking permission from the Sugar Board,
Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) and security organs,” he added.
MeTL Chairman, Mr Gulam Dewji, further
pointed out that his company being internationally recognised by trading
agricultural products, the firm also produces products which demanded
industrial sugar.
“Such products which require sugar is as
beverages thus we need a huge stock of sugar at all time for production
of the products,” Mr Dewji said in a media statement.
It further explained that such reports
might fuel anger from members of the public at this moment of sugar
scarcity, noting that when MeTL industries want to import sugar they
should follow all the required steps.
According to Dewji, importing sugar from
Brazil takes between 50 and 60 days by ship while from Dubai it takes
only seven days and that they import the product from Dubai because of
the small costs. “MeTL imports sugar from Dubai because of easier
logistics compared to importing from Brazil,” observed the statement
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