On July 31, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture signed a public-private partnership agreement with a consortium of companies led by the Sudanese conglomerate Al Badri, operating in agro-industry and energy. The objective is to enable Mauritania to achieve its ambition, which is to launch large-scale sugar production.

Mauritania imports all of its sugar needs. While the commodity is the second largest expenditure item for food imports after edible oils, the government is stepping up efforts to strengthen the local industry. In a statement published on its website, the Ministry of the Economy indicates that the agreement signed at the end of July relates to the construction of an agro-industrial complex with a total estimated cost of $446 million for sugar production in the Foum Gleita region, in the south of the country

L'ambition affichée par les autorités à travers cet investissement est de couvrir jusqu' à 63% de la demande nationale de sucre, ce qui suggère de parvenir à une production de près de 250 000 tons per year. Data é compiled by Directorate é g é Customsé regulations in fact indicate that Mauritania imported style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style”, serif">& eacute ;800 398 tons of white sugar on average between 2019 and 2023

Le document indique aussi que “la mise en production est prévue dans un délai de trois ans à compter de la signature de contrat, qui s 'é tend over a period é of thirty years. This ambitious project marks a major turning point for the Mauritanian agricultural and industrial sectors