BUA Foods is steadily growing its market share in the Sugar sector in Nigeria due to aggressive investments in capacity expansion at its refineries and its retail penetration strategy which has driven heightened product availability.
BUA Foods owns the second largest sugar refinery in West Africa, with total sugar refining capacity of 1.5 million MT per annum, which is able to meet 93 percent of Nigeria’s estimated sugar consumption rate in 2020 of 1.6 million MT per annum, as estimated by Fitch Solution in 2020.
According to the Fitch Solution, BUA’s sugar refining capacity has earned the Company a market share of 35% in Q3 2021, representing a 9% increase from its 2020 position of 26% market share.
BUA Foods is gaining market share from other major competitors in the sector including Dangote Sugar and Golden Sugar Company.
This was achieved by the addition of 750,000 MT per annum capacity to the Company’s sugar refinery in Port Harcourt.
BUA Foods has developed a distinct reputation for making high-quality products across its business Divisions, evidenced by the Company estimates of its 35% share of the Nigerian sugar market, 20% share of the Nigerian flour market and 20% share of the Nigerian pasta market.
In 2021, the Company was granted a Halal certification for its Sugar Division by the Halal Certification Authority.
The Halal certification states that its certified products are permissible for the followers of Islam and no haram products or procedures are used for its production, packaging, storage and transport.
This offers competitive edge in the Company’s strategy for expanding to other markets within and outside Africa.
Nigeria is the second largest sugar market in Sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa. The per capita consumption of sugar was about 8kg in 2020, much lower than the global average of c.23kg.
In 2012, the FGN launched the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), a policy document which contains the strategic road map for the development of the sugar industry as well as the enactment of the conducive policy environment for its implementation.
The policy positions the sector to attract investments in domestic production through backward integration program, offering credit facilities and tax incentives to investors, while at the same time imposing duties on imported raw and refined sugar.
BUA owns two plantations: LASUCO in Kwara State (Milling Capacity/annum: 220,000MT) and Bassa in Kogi State has a 50,000-hectare sugar cane plantation. The Company’s two sugar refineries are in Lagos and Port Harcourt with a combined installed capacity of 1.5million MT per annum.
BUA Foods is listed on the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) and has a market capitalization of N1.079 trillion.