Dangote Sugar Refinery is advancing an aggressive investment programme worth over US$700 million to overhaul Nigeria’s sugar industry and cut the country’s dependence on imported raw sugar. The commitment spans large-scale land acquisitions, upgraded industrial machinery, expanded refining infrastructure, workforce training, and extensive community development schemes, forming one of the most ambitious sector-wide interventions since the launch of Nigeria’s Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).
The renewed push was showcased at the Lagos International Trade Fair, where Dangote Sugar introduced new retail product sizes in 100g, 250g, 500g and 1kg formats. Company executives say this retail expansion aligns with the backward integration strategy that aims to increase local cultivation and processing of sugarcane.
Fatima Aliko-Dangote, Executive Director of Commercial Operations, stressed that the Group’s long-term blueprint centres on industrialisation as the foundation for job creation, value addition and resilience in the face of Nigeria’s forex and commodity pressures. The country remains heavily reliant on sugar imports to meet an annual demand of about 1.7 million tonnes, according to the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC). Local production continues to lag: COMTRADE data shows Nigeria imported roughly 825,121 tonnes of raw sugar in 2023. Between July 2024 and June 2025 alone, raw sugar imports cost Nigeria ₦953.9 billion, with March 2025 imports reaching about 98,000 tonnes.
Dangote Sugar plans to close these gaps with a goal of producing 700,000 tonnes of sugar locally within five years. The value chain expansion is expected to create over 75,000 jobs across farming, processing, logistics and retail. The investment will also support the company’s broader target of raising refined sugar output toward 1.5 million metric tonnes annually in the coming years.
Financial performance has reinforced the company’s capacity to pursue large-scale expansion. At the 19th Annual General Meeting, Aliko Dangote reported that the refinery’s revenue grew 51% to ₦665.6 billion in 2024, up from ₦441.5 billion recorded in 2023. Acting AGM Chair Bennedikter Molokwu noted that this performance emphasises the company’s resilience despite inflation, exchange-rate volatility and global supply-chain disruptions. Shareholders also highlighted the refinery’s current combined processing capacity of 1.49 million tonnes per year, one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Group CEO Ravindra Singhvi said the US$700 million spend is a core pillar of the sugar-backward integration programme, with accelerated field development and factory expansion already underway across the company’s estates in Numan, Savannah and Nasarawa. With expanded land development, improved plantation yields and additional refining lines, Dangote Sugar is positioning itself as the anchor of Nigeria’s drive toward full sugar self-sufficiency.
As rising import costs strain Nigeria’s economy, the company’s expansion signals a critical shift in national food-security planning. By increasing domestic capacity, reducing the billions spent on annual imports, and deepening rural job creation, Dangote Sugar Refinery is cementing its role as a central force in reshaping Nigeria’s sugar market and advancing the country’s long-term industrialisation agenda.
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