Maputo, May 25 - Mozambique expects to produce 390,698 tonnes of sugar this year, up from the 250,191 tonnes output reached last year, as the industry recovers from a slump in production during the civil war, a report said on Monday.
The government's Agricultural Promotion Centre (CEPAGRI) said some 40,318 hectares of land would be cultivated this year for sugar production, a 30 percent increase on last year.
"Mozambique's sugar industry expects to produce 390,698 tonnes of sugar this year and 101,360 tonnes of molasses," CEPAGRI's report said.
CEPAGRI said Mozambique expects to export some 195,000 tonnes of sugar to the European market this year, profiting from a duty-free access, which could earn the country as much as $65 million. All sugar exports totalled 175,000 tonnes last year.
"With the entry into function of the new laws of the EU with the anticipated price of $336 dollars per tonne, the country will earn more than $65 million and this will represent record earnings for the sector," the report said.
Mozambique's sugar sector is rapidly recovering from the effects of a 17-year civil war that cut production from a high of 700,000 tonnes per year to as low as 10,000 tonnes per year at the height of the war. The war ended in 1992.
In 1972, Mozambique was the world's fourth-largest sugar exporter after Mauritius, South Africa and Egypt, but 17 years of a devastating civil war wrecked the entire infrastructure bringing production almost to a halt.
The government has since encouraged foreign investors to help boost the industry, also for production of ethanol.
Some $500 million have been invested in the sector in the last 15 years, mainly by South African firms.