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 can today reveal that the sugar tax (or health promotion levy) has cost the sugar industry nearly R1 billion since its implementation on 1 April 2018.

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.

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.

The world's top ten crops - barley, cassava, maize, oil palm, rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soya bean, sugarcane and wheat - supply a combined 83% of all calories produced on cropland.

The South African sugar industry is in a deep crisis, according to the BFAP Baseline Agricultural Outlook for the period 2019 to 2028.

The Seafield Farm in the Midlands South region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa has completed a successful trial of crop-spraying drones over selected sections of its sugarcane farm, offering a new lease of life to the country’s flagging sugarcane industry.

‘We estimate that for every ton of imported sugar that flows into the country, the SA industry loses R4 000.

Since the start of the year, the sugar industry has distributed more than R225 million to Small-Scale Growers.

In some parts of South Africa’s Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, sugarcane fields stretch as far as the eye can see.

SA Canegrowers welcomes the disbursement of more than R79 million in transformation funding for small-scale growers at the end of January 2023.

SA Canegrowers is deeply concerned about the recently published Draft Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, which includes an increase in the Health Promotion Levy that is due to take effect on 1 April 2025.