Nov. 22 - IllovoSugar announced on 12 November that it had approved an investment in the sugar industry in Mali. Associated British Foods plc (“ABF”), the international food, ingredients and retail group holds a 51% stake in Illovo Sugar.
Illovo Sugar will hold a 70% stake in an investment of 1.4 billion rand (£100 million) for the construction of a new sugar mill, an ethanol plant and an electricity co-generation unit in Mali. The remaining stake will be held by the Government of Mali and private investors. Illovo will also manage a Mali Government-sponsored agricultural development to produce the 1.5 million tonnes of sugar cane per annum required to supply this new facility.
Sugar production will begin in December 2009, reaching full capacity two years later. The mill will ultimately produce 200,000 tonnes of sugar per annum and the ethanol plant 15 million litres per annum.
George Weston, Chief Executive of Associated British Foods, said:
“This investment in Mali follows Illovo’s recently announced expansion in Zambia and is further evidence of the region’s development potential and our commitment to it.”