Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Plc (Malawi)

Illovo Sugar is a leading, global, low-cost sugar producer and a significant manufacturer of high-value downstream products. The group is Africa’s biggest sugar producer and has extensive agricultural and manufacturing operations in six African countries. Downstream products include furfural (used mainly in lube oil refineries for the purification of oils), furfuryl alcohol (used mainly to produce a resin in the foundry industry as a binder for foundry sands), Crop Guard (an agricultural nematicide), diacetyl and 2.3-pentanedione (both used as butter flavouring), ethyl alcohol and lactulose (a natural laxative). Illovo is listed on the JSE Limited. It is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc which holds 51% of the issued share capital. Excellent climatic and soil conditions in the group’s countries of operation, accompanied by irrigation from secure water sources, are ideal for the cultivation of high-yielding and excellent quality sugar cane. Annual cane production of approximately 5.5 million tons is produced on agricultural estates in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Swaziland, Tanzania and Mozambique. Annual sugar output amounts to approximately 1.9 million tons comprising 900 000 tons produced in South Africa, Malawi 290 000 tons, Zambia 250 000 tons, Swaziland 230 000 tons, Tanzania 140 000 tons and Mozambique 75 000 tons.