Sugar

ABF Sugar produces a range of sugar, fuels and other products from sugar cane, sugar beet and wheat in Africa, the UK and Spain.

£1,966m

Revenue

£(47)m

Adjusted operating loss

This group of businesses employs 28,000 people and operates 16 plants in seven countries, with the capacity to produce approximately 4 million tonnes of sugar annually.

In Africa, we have sugar cane operations in Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. We have market-leading consumer brands in these countries, with Bwana Sukari in Tanzania, White Spoon in Zambia and Illovo in multiple markets. In certain markets we also produce co-products such as potable alcohol, furfural and electricity for local grids.

In the UK, British Sugar is the sole processor of the sugar beet crop and in Spain, Azucarera is the largest sugar producer. Our strong domestic brands include Silver Spoon in the UK and the Azucarera brand in Spain. In the UK, we produce a range of co-products including energy, animal feed, bioethanol, betaine and CO₂.

We also have a 42.5% ownership in Czarnikow Group Limited*, a global supply chain management and advisory company specialising in the food and beverage sector.

* Safety and environment data (or ESG data) is reported for companies over which the Group has control as described on page 58 of the Annual Report 2026.

Our Sugar brands

Azucarera

Azucarera is the leading sugar producer in Spain. The strategic location of its factories—together with its two sugar packaging centres and its liquid specialties plant—ensures a flexible production and supply of sugar (beet and cane) and co-products for both industry and retail markets throughout the year.

Azucarera website

Bwana Sukari

Bwana Sukari is produced by Kilombero Sugar and is a market leader in the branded sugar category, known and enjoyed by many across Tanzania.

Bwana Sukari website

Illovo "Trusted Quality"

Illovo Trusted Quality Sugar is sold locally under Illovo’s “Trusted Quality” brand in Rwanda and in South Africa where it leads the industrial sugar market sector. In Malawi, Illovo is the country’s leading sugar producer for consumer and industrial markets.

Illovo Sugar website

Whitespoon

Whitespoon is produced by Zambia Sugar, the leading local sugar producer in Zambia, offering a wide range of sugar products for household and industrial use for domestic and regional markets.

White Spoon website

Our Sugar businesses

ABF Sugar is a group of sugar businesses that create products to serve customers, communities and shareholders. Its products are sold into industry sectors including food and drink, pharmaceutical, industrial, agricultural and horticultural, power and energy.

ABF Sugar website

Azucarera website

British Sugar is the sole processer of the UK’s sugar beet crop. It also produces a variety of co-products including animal feed, bioethanol, topsoil, aggregate, LimeX and electricity through its combined heat and power plants.

British Sugar website

Illovo Sugar Malawi is the largest producer of sugar in Malawi, with significant agricultural and milling assets at the Dwangwa Sugar Estate in Central Malawi and Nchalo Sugar Estate in the South. It produces a range of brown, refined and speciality sugars for domestic and export markets.

Illovo Sugar Malawi website

Illovo Sugar South Africa is the sugar market leader in the industrial sector and brand leader in the syrup category in South Africa. Its two advanced warehouse and distribution centres link three primary manufacturing plants in KwaZulu-Natal to national retail, wholesale and industrial customers. Illovo offers a wide range of sugars, syrups and downstream value-added products derived from sugar, including furfural and alcohol.

Illovo Sugar South Africa website

Kilombero Sugar is the largest producer of sugar in Tanzania, producing 120 000 tonnes of sugar annually. Kilombero has the largest crop estate in Tanzania covering 26 000 hectares and working with approximately 8000 small holder growers. It produces high quality brown sugar for industrial customers and produce a variety of pack sizes to serve households across Tanzania. Its on-site distillery also produces 12.5 million litres of Entra Neutral Alcohol per year.

British Sugar website

Ubombo Sugar Ltd, situated adjacent to the Usuthu River in Eswatini, is the country's oldest sugar mill. Producing approximately 260 000 tons of sugar annually, Ubombo is one of three sugar producers in the country whose combined total sugar output of 670, 000 tons is marketed and distributed by the Eswatini Sugar Association, sold both locally and exported. Through its co-generation facility Ubombo also exports power, providing electricity to the national grid.

Ubombo Sugar website

Zambia Sugar produces a wide range of products under the renowned Whitespoon brand, including direct consumption brown, refined and household sugar enriched with Vitamin A, sugars for industrial use, syrup and speciality sugars as well as molasses for both local and export markets. Its Nakambala factory is the largest single-site sugar mill in Africa with a capacity to produce 450 000 tons of sugar annually.

Zambia Sugar website

Sugar in action

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