It seems only right that a tax that originates from the sugar industry should be applied to explore ways to enable this huge employer of South Africans to keep up the good work. 

I am sure many will agree that this has been an eventful year for the South African sugar industry, particularly from a trade perspective. A few months ago, hardly a week would go by without seeing stories of sugar imports threatening the local industry.

Sugar producer Illovo Sugar Africa has been partnering nongovernmental organisations, governments and global

As South Africans navigate a festive season offering the relief of a lower fuel price — while taking a toll in disruption due to load-shedding — it all points to the shameful slow progress the country has made in developing a biofuels industry.

In his state of the nation address, President Ramaphosa was very clear on the need to develop agriculture for the benefit of all. However, inexplicably, he said sweet nothing about the perilous state of the sugar sector.

The South African Canegrowers Association notes the press release issued by the Chairperson of the Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee, Ms. Joan Fubbs.

The SA Canegrowers Association is shocked at Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s decision to hike the sugar tax by 5.2% amidst an imminent industry collapse and extensive job losses.

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal: The South African Farmers Development Association (SAFDA) acknowledges and appreciates Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, which is chaired by Joanmariae Fubbs, for its important role in advancing the cause of the sugar industry in
South Africa.

The SA Canegrowers Association is pleased that the Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee has responded to our call for an urgent meeting on the crisis in the sugar industry.

The SA Canegrowers Association is encouraged that the Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee today agreed on the scale of the crisis in the sugar industry.

Increasing sugar imports and the so-called sugar tax are significant risks that may impact on the profitability of the agricultural sector in the short to medium term, says Land Bank research analyst Gilberto Blacuana.

He adds, however, that these risks can be mitigated through higher import tariffs and investment in alternative uses of sugarcane, such as ethanol production.

“The global sugar market is distorted by production and export subsidies, which create an oversupply of sugar. Additionally, almost all countries have tariff protection in their domestic sugar industries.”

Blacuana says data from the South African Revenue Serviceshows that sugar imports from India have increased substantially in recent months.

He says the Indian government offers its sugar producers a $150/t rebate or subsidy on sugar exports.

“This unfair practice, or dumping, makes the Indian sugar [industry] competitive in the global market, thus depressing global prices. This unfair practice has prompted Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer, and Australia, to lodge a formal complaint against India at the World Trade Organisation.”

This is especially relevant since markets compete for share in the massive sugar importer, the US, which increased its sugar imports by 58.3% between the 2015/16 and 2016/17 season, from 470 000 t to 744 000 t.

Moreover, Blacuana says South Africa’s export data shows that sugar exports had increased by 54.5% to 1.2-million tonnes in the 2017/18 season. The proportion of South Africa’s exports to domestic production increased from 13.6% in the 2016/17 season, to 37.3% in the 2017/18 season.

“Should the South African government not take further steps to protect the local market, the domestic market will come under renewed pressure from sugar imports from India. The industry has called for the tariff to be increased from R4 500/t to about R7 000/t.”

Meanwhile, Blacuana says the Health Promotion Levy, or sugar tax as it is better known, which was implemented in April 2018, involved a 5.2% increase in tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

Estimates from the South African Sugar Association indicate that the revenue lost since the implementation of the sugar tax is about R1.3-billion, Blacuana points out.

“While it is difficult to quantify the impact of imports and the sugar tax on employment, the South African Cane Growers Association estimates that the sugar tax is likely to lead to about 10 000 people losing their jobs in the primary level of the sugar value chain; however, this figure does not consider the impact on job losses in the milling and beverage industries. The sugar industry employs about 350 000 people.”

However, the African News Agency earlier this week reported that the National Treasury’s Mpho Legote had stated that any current estimates are guesswork and that the government was undertaking an assessment of the impact of the sugar tax.

Russia’s difficulty exporting its sugar could slow the expansion of the industry that’s seen a big transformation in the past two decades.

The hormonal and bioenergetic circuit are primarily involved with the maintenance of cortisol, thyroid, and insulin levels, and the organs that maintain those hormones, the adrenals, the thyroid, and the pancreas.

Newly elected SA Canegrowers Chairman, Rex Talmage has welcomed the appointment of new government ministers to the critical departments of Trade and Industry and Agriculture and Rural Development saying the change in leadership offered the hope of a rescue plan for an "industry on its knees".

DO YOU dunk a rusk in a cup of tea and call it breakfast, or grab a sneaky chocolate during your afternoon slump, or perhaps you add a teaspoon of sugar to your coffee?

DouxMatok, a Petah Tikva, Israel-based food-tech company that says it is able to cut sugar levels in foods without affecting their taste, said on Wednesday it had raised $22 million in a series B funding round.

Nestle has found a way to create chocolate without adding any sugar, relying on leftover material from cocoa plants for sweetening as consumers look for natural and healthier fare.

Sugar in South Africa- 

Be honest – how many drinks containers have you used today? A carton of orange juice at breakfast, a plastic bottle of water for your morning run, a takeaway coffee, maybe a can of soft drink at lunch, a couple of styrofoam cups at the office water cooler, perhaps even a bottle of wine to go with dinner? It all adds up.

Harvesting and transportation accounts for one third of the total production costs of sugar from sugar cane. To be more efficient, Bevap brought artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things into this process. This resulted in 8% increased efficiency representing € 150 million.