The Ministry of Trade & Industry has begun the process of importing two million quintals of sugar to meet expected demand arising from the upcoming Ethiopian New Year festivities. The country has a sufficient stock of sugar that will last for the next two months, according to Desalegn Tesema, supply & warehouse head at the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation. The overall annual sugar demand in the country stands at 7.5 million quintals. However, the seven operational sugar factories produced 3.1 million quintals of sugar over the just ended fiscal year, a 600,000ql increase from the preceding year. The Ministry of Finance had announced that six sugar projects will be privatised.