BY ONOME AMUGE
The first indigenous brown sugar produced in Nigeria, Sunti Brown Sugar, has been introduced to the wider market in the country by Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN).
The country’s first wholly-produced brown sugar is manufactured under the company’s flagship food brand, Golden Penny.
The leading integrated food business and agro-allied group said the launch of the new sweetener is a reflection of its commitment to the national sugar master plan aimed at bolstering local production of sugar to curb importation, promote self-sufficiency and ensure the country’s local sugar industry gratifies the 1.7 million metric tonnes local consumption demand.
Sunti Brown Sugar is fully indigenous as it is produced from sugarcane grown, harvested, and processed locally through its sugar milling subsidiary, Sunti Golden Sugar Estates located in Sunti, a community in Niger State, Nigeria’s largest state by landmass.
According to a statement from the company, the premium quality brown sugar is fortified with vitamin A and additional nutritional benefits to create and sustain a consumer affinity for made-in-Nigeria products.
Omoboyede Olusanya, group managing director of FMN, at the launch, emphasised that continued investments in Nigeria’s sugar value chain would increase local sugar production capacity while also empowering host communities.
According to Olusanya, the sugar that is produced from locally grown sugarcane meets less than five percent of the nation’s demand, necessitating FMN’s commitment to improving the supply value chain through backward integration designed to boost food security and reduce the country’s high dependency on sugar imports.
He also noted that the development will create vast employment opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled labour, while also promoting a vibrant sugar sector that the Nigerian economy can derive immeasurable benefits from.
Devlin Hainsworth, managing director, foods division, FMN Group, said the addition of Sunti Brown sugar to the company’s product portfolio broadens its ability to meet the diverse needs of Nigerian consumers, and strengthens the company’s track record of excellence in the sugar industry.
Hainsworth stated further that Sunti Brown Sugar, extracted from naturally grown sugarcanes, is set to restore Nigerian pride by introducing to the market a product that is entirely made from start to finish in Nigeria.
“Additionally, it reaffirms our commitment to the millions of Nigerian families that rely on us for daily sustenance and confirms Golden Penny’s place at the heart of the family and, of course, the nation,” the managing director added.
