Benin's Sugar Industry,a Sweet Success

by Li Cunnan
[Benin] Ogoutchoro O.Tranquilin

Benin, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, is a beautiful country boasting vast tracts of sugarcane field. They present a charming scene in the harvest season with their pink flowers swaying gently in the breeze.

For the locals, the soil in the field has a sweet smell as their sugarcane fields have brought them good luck. The story starts with a sugar company, the Sucrerie de Complant du Benin, or SUCOBE.

Sweet Days for Sugar Producers

Benin's soil is ideal for growing sugarcane. Processing sugar from sugarcane juice is a pillar industry. In 1973, to boost the development of the sugar industry, Benin set up the Savè Factory in the city of Savè jointly with its neighbor Nigeria. It was managed by the Savè Sugar Company (Société Sucrière de Savè) and went into operation in March 1983. However, poor agricultural conditions as well as the use of wrong heavy equipment that was incorrectly assembled led to the factory suffering from low efficiency, high energy consumption and huge production costs. After several owners, it suspended operation in 1990, creating a bitter situation for sugar producers. To reverse the tide, the governments of Benin and Nigeria called for bids to select a new lessee. China National Complete Plant Import and Export Group Corporation Limited – or COMPLANT – won the bid and set up SUCOBE, the only sugar refinery in Benin.

Situated on the outskirts of Savè in Collines Province, SUCOBE is about 260 km from Cotonou, the seat of Benin's government. A combination enterprise encompassing agriculture, industry and trade, SUCOBE's major business is sugarcane planting and sugar production and sale, filling the void in Benin's sugar industry. SUCOBE inherited a rotten legacy, literally. On the vast fields it leased, only 1,000 hectares had been growing cane for over four years, with the rest long deserted and filled with cane stubble. The roads, culverts, ditches and irrigation equipment had all broken down.

The factory equipment and agricultural machinery were in a state of disrepair with their key components missing. There were not enough management staff and technicians, especially to run the turbines and manage the power supply, or to man the process of boiling and filtering the sugar.

It was not easy to revive a factory that had seen its business disrupted for over 10 years. The Chinese team put in substantial human, material and financial resources to run the factory and the farm. They also made over 90 technical readjustments so that the production process would be compatible with the local conditions.

They replaced the original equipment incompatible with the Chinese equipment and applied the sulfitation process. The raw and refined sugar assembly line was discontinued to produce qualified edible white sugar and ethanol on the white granulated sugar assembly line.

They also bought tractors, vehicles and agricultural machinery to run the farm. As Dubei, a recently retired power engineer at the farm with years of experience, said, "Without the investment in the hardware and the transformation of the power system by the Chinese team, it would have been impossible to sustain the irrigation of such a large area of sugarcane fields."

SUCOBE cultivated and sowed all the 4,935 hectares in four crushing seasons and reaped a bountiful harvest of 258,000 tonnes of cane in one crushing season, a record high in the history of the company. At present, its sugar output is 160,000 tonnes annually.

Of this, 80-85 percent is exported to Niger, and the rest is sold to SOBEBRA, the largest local beverage factory.


Farm machinery at the SUCOBE factory

SOBEBRA, the largest local beverage factory.

The rent and taxes that SUCOBE has paid the authorities and the jobs it has generated have boosted the economic and social development of both Savè and Collines.

With SUCOBE's growth, the salary and allowances of its local staff have also increased. In 2017, the annual income of an average contract worker was about XOF1.6 million, or USD2,700, much above the national average. The per capita gross national income of Benin in 2017 was USD825.

The increased income has helped to improve local people's life. SUCOBE staff have their own houses in Savè or the suburban area and their own means of transport. The company also provides interestfree student loans for the education of employees’ children.


A dugout canoe unique to Benin

Talking about their company, the employees were full of pride. Lolang, who works in the sales department and has the reputation of being a responsible and dedicated worker, recalled how excited he was the day he signed his contract. "When I began working, I couldn’t afford to buy even a pair of slippers," he said. "But since working here, I bought land, built my house and got married. In 2016, I bought my first car, a second-hand Toyota, and in 2019, built a second house to rent out. Working here has given me a chance to change my life."

Ellis, a driver at the company, was a new father when he joined them. Today, he is the father of four children. "I hope my kids can work here when I retire and their kids after them," he said. The locals pin their hopes for a better life for the next generation or further generations on the company, which has brought them good fortune. It has not just delivered benefits to its employees but also promoted Benin's industrial development.

Recipe for Riches

SUCOBE has promoted local economic growth and sugarrelated industries, strengthening the industrial foundation for the long-term development of Benin. The process to make sugar from sugarcane creates molasses as a byproduct and SUCOBE began to utilize it by manufacturing ethanol to make alcohol. It built a workshop to make ethanol from molasses but the output was low. So the company decided to add an assembly line to use cassava instead to boost ethanol production. Cassava is the staple food crop of Benin and is widely cultivated locally.

Earlier, farmers processed the cassava they grew into edible starch, which was used for personal consumption, and its economic benefits were largely neglected. After SUCOBE launched its new ethanol assembly line, farmers were encouraged to grow more cassava since it paid a good price for the crop and the payments were prompt. Growing cassava became the trend in the area.

Today, the volume of dry cassava SUCOBE buys from local farmers has increased from the initial 3,000 tonnes to 14,000 tonnes, forging a long-term and trustworthy business relationship with a group of local merchants in Savè. By selling dry cassava to SUCOBE, hundreds of local households have improved their income and living conditions. Some cassava merchants have built multi-story houses and bought trucks.

SUCOBE's ethanol production in a single crushing season has significantly increased, meeting more than half the demand for edible alcohol in Benin. This has reduced alcohol imports, saving the country foreign exchange and balancing its import and export.

SUCOBE's alcohol has earned a reputation nationwide for its superb quality and mellow taste and has amassed a loyal clientele. Many dealers have made a fortune by selling SUCOBE's alcohol at distribution outlets around Savè and in major cities in Benin. Some Indian wineries in capital Cotonou have also established long-term stable partnerships with SUCOBE.

A National Enterprise

Benin's industrial development has been slow as it lacks large labor-intensive enterprises. SUCOBE's presence has improved the situation. The owner of 5,000 hectares of farmland in Benin, it is the country's largest employer in both its factories and on the cane fields, which have a huge demand for labor. From November to March, which is the crushing season, about 4,000 laborers are needed each day; and in the non-crushing season from April to October, the number is 100. These jobs do not need special skills and can be done by both men and women. SUCOBE has become a good job generator for the locals, the only one with such strength in Benin.


SUCOBE employees at work

Besides creating jobs, SUCOBE also trains personnel for Benin. At present, 99 percent of its staff are from Benin. With its local employees, the use of local raw materials like sugarcane and cassava, and the processing done locally, it is regarded as a national enterprise by the locals.

The Beninese are keen to visit China and know more about the country because in the process of SUCOBE's development, the people of China and Benin have increased their understanding of each other. Despite the occasional hiccup in the collaboration, the common aspiration for a better life has become the strong driving force for communication, consultation and friendship.

Claremeont, the first chairman of SUCOBE's trade union and chief of the sugar boiling workshop, often has tough arguments with the Chinese management over staff benefits. At the same time, he is a pillar at work too. During the 2016-17 crushing season, both Beninese and Chinese workers were concerned about the stagnant sugar output and checked the problems round the clock. Claremeont, together with his Chinese colleagues, kept the manager's office regularly updated, even at midnight, doing his part to help the company pull through.


A scenic lake in Benin

A Chinese manager was known for being strict at work and the employees often complained about it in private. But in April 2019, when the manager had to return to China for medical treatment, the foremen and workers from several cane fields who had once criticized him arrived at his residence in a convoy of pick-up trucks to say goodbye. Some cried on seeing the toll overwork had taken on him.

Since the Republic of Benin was founded, Benin has forged a profound friendship with China, which has assisted in its development in many ways over a long period of time. Today, SUCOBE has made the life of the Beninese all the more sweet and the friendship of the two peoples is blossoming.

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Project Overview:

SUCRERIE DE COMPLANT DU BENIN, or SUCOBE, grew out of the Savè Sugar Company (Société Sucrière de Savè), the only sugar producer in Benin. COMPLANT (China National Complete Plant Import and Export Group Corporation Limited) signed a tenancy contract with the governments of Nigeria and Benin in May 2003 for a 20-year lease period.

Thanks to upgraded technology, personnel training and experience, SUCOBE's annual sugar yield has reached 16,000 tonnes today. As China's largest investment project in Benin and a laborintensive.

Agricultural enterprise, SUCOBE has greatly boosted the social and economic development of Savè and Collines. By December 2018.

SUCOBE had paid a total of USD14.52 million in rent, USD22.72 million in value-added tax, and USD1.59 million in land tax.