South Sudan Denies Allegations Of Excesive Sugar Consumption

28 July 2010 - (Juba) – The GOSS Ministry of Commerce and Industry has disputed claims by the press in Khartoum that most of Sudan’s sugar is consumed in southern Sudan, soaring sugar prices in the north.

The report states that the Southern Sudan Beverage Brewery Limited uses a huge amount of sugar.

Stephen Dhieu spoke to SRS in Juba on Wednesday. He said the brewery gets its raw materials from South Africa.

[Stephen Dhieu]: “No totally, these are baseless allegations against the southern Sudanese people. They say there are breweries operating in Juba which consume big quantities of sugar from the north. This is not true because in the ten states, we have only one brewery which is still at the starting stage, infantry stage. This company-Southern Sudan Beverages Limited is mainly owned by South African businessmen. It is not producing beer alone. It is actually a combined factory which produces beer plus soft drinks and juices from different types of fruits. This one factory uses raw materials imported from the mother company, South Africa."

The report also said that about one million tons of sugar has been exported to southern Sudan since the signing of the CPA, an allegation Dhieu refutes.

[Stephen Dhieu]: “They said from the beginning of the season up to the 19th of July, 2010, what was distributed in the north was around one million tons of sugar. In our record or data here in the south, what was brought through privates businesses from the north is less than four thousand tons. Compare four thousand tons and one million tons?”

Stephen Dhieu, the GOSS minister of Commerce and Supply was speaking to SRS in Juba on Wednesday.