Africa's Sugar and Ethanol Industry Came Together Last Week

Sugar and Ethanol Africa 2017, which took place in Nairobi last week, brought together 100 executives from 15 different countries including South Africa, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mauritius, Ethiopia and the host country Kenya.
The event started off with a technical workshop which looked at how new technologies and process design help in boosting ethanol production and the overall profitability of the distillery.
Day 1 of the main conference kicked off with an analysis of the demand and supply side for white and raw sugar, the prospects for 2018, and what impact will the end of the EU Sugar Quota, which comes into effect on 1 October 2017, have on the African market. How much EU Sugar is expected to flow into parts of East Africa and what will be the trade dynamics and competition with Brazil, Middle East, Guatemala and other countries such as Pakistan.
Global ethanol prospects and the importance of blending mandates to create a stable backdrop for new investment and trade was also highlighted.
The focus then zoomed in on Kenya with updates on the privatisation of the government owned/controlled sugar mills, the current situation of Sugar milling in Kenya and what needs to be done to attract new finance to the industry. The importance of regional trade agreements, opportunities in Africa for investment, trade, refined sugar and how to ensure a competitive and vibrant industry grows across the African region. With the focus very much on preparing for the future.
Day 2 started with 3 pioneers in the African sugar and ethanol - Biocom-Angola, Green Fuel, Zimbabwe and Sunbird BioEnergy which acquired the Addax Bioenergy Distillery in Sierra Leone. A fascinating session which showed the great potential Africa has for sugar and ethanol when it is well manged. This nicely led us on to presentations by Praj on how to configure a best in class and sustainable ethanol project.
The markets and potential for ethanol fuel for cooking in Africa was also highlighted with a lot of of interests shown in the work being done by KOKO Networks and Project Gaia.
Many thanks to our speakers and sponsor who made this event so interesting and educational for all of us.