SUGARCANE production at Mkwasine has gone down by half to 451 773 tonnes per year since the government embarked on the chaotic fast-track land reform in 2000.
BY GARIKAI MAFIRAKUREVA
At its peak, production was 900 000 tonnes.
Mkwasine cane farming area is more than 8 200 hectares and has 499 new black farm owners, with plot sizes ranging between 10 and 40 hectares.
Tongaat Hulett managing director Sydney Mtsambiwa revealed the figures at the commissioning of the rehabilitated Nandi-Mkwanise railway line held at Nandi Level crossing in Chiredzi last week.
“We are worried that sugar cane production in Mkwasine has dropped by 50% to date. With 1 000 tonnes of sugar cane fetching $570 per tonne on the market, it means the area’s sugar cane production contribution to the national domestic product has fallen from half a billion per year to about $250 million,” he said.
European Union representative Thomas Opera said Zimbabwe produces 3,7 million tonnes of sugar annually, of which 300 000 are consumed locally, contributing $171 million to the gross domestic product, while the remainder was sold to EU countries.
The 35km Nandi-Mkwasine railway line was constructed in 1978, when Mkwasine Estates entered into an agreement with the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) to construct a private siding linking Mkwasine with the main NRZ line at Nandi Siding.
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The construction was necessitated by Mkwasine to haul sugar cane to both mills in Hippo Valley and Triangle.
