After a first-quarter upturn driven by the brewing sector, the agri-food branch recorded a 67% decline in the second quarter of 2026. 

This underperformance dragged the entire national manufacturing industry down by 34.5% over the period, bringing the branch's year-on-year change to -14.7%. Only 11% growth in extractive industries allowed the overall industrial index to maintain a marginal 1.2% increase. 


The root of this activity shock lies in the strong seasonality of sugarcane harvests and the temporary shutdown of processing plants at the end of the agricultural campaign. The country's sole producer, based in Banda, the Chadian Sugar Company (CST), controlled by the French group Somdia, has a daily processing capacity of 2,400 tonnes of cane over a 180-day cycle. Its annual production caps at around 35,000 tonnes of granulated sugar under the Princesse Tatie brand, a volume far below national consumption estimated at 270,000 tonnes per year.

This limited local supply forces Chad to rely heavily on external sourcing. In 2025, sugar imports reached 220,947 tonnes for a total value of 47.9 billion CFA francs, originating mainly from Brazil, India, France, and Ivory Coast. 

In total, fourteen approved operators share this import market of approximately 230,000 tonnes per year, keeping the trade balance under pressure.


To correct this structural imbalance, the parent company Somdia has formalized its intention to invest several tens of millions of euros in modernizing CST's infrastructure. Presented at the France-Chad Business Forum in Paris, this investment program aims to raise local production capacity to 50,000 tonnes per year. The project provides for the expansion of sugarcane cultivation areas by 2,000 hectares, the upgrading of the Banda plant's industrial and energy equipment, and the construction of a 7 MW solar power plant. 


Ultimately, this increase in industrial capacity should enable Chad to mitigate the vulnerability of its productive apparatus to agricultural calendar hazards and strengthen its food sovereignty.


Nlend Flore

Tags: tchad industrie agroalimentaire production sucriere compagnie sucriere du tchad somdia importations sucre souverainete alimentaire investissement industriel banda economie tchadienne