The chairperson of the South African Sugar Association, Fay Mukaddam, has pledged that no farmer or miller will be left behind in the industry’s development and growth efforts. Mukaddam emphasised this commitment while addressing the South African Sugar Technologies Association (Sasta) at a recent industry event.
“It is important to state that diversification efforts must also be to the benefit of over 24 000 small-scale growers, who have the foundational role in the industry. No farmer, no miller will be left behind in our product diversification endeavours.
“Our relationship as the industry with you will be that of a student-supervisor one, and we intend to ace this study, graduating cum laude or summa cum laude. We say diversification in our lifetime,” he said.
Diversify to expand profitability
Mukaddam said it is important that the industry receives different streams of income besides only producing sugar and molasses.
“This includes conducting decades of research to determine the viability of several diversification opportunities, looking to other sugar-producing countries who have diversified their sugar industries successfully. Therefore, the industry master plan has given us renewed hope that there will be light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
According to Mukaddam, at least 10 product diversification opportunities were identified and earmarked to progress to the next stage of project development.
“Most diversification opportunities are still at scoping and pre-feasibility stages and if deemed viable, they will move to bankable feasibility before commercialisation.
“Diversification opportunities investigated have already been commercialised in other parts of the world such as Brazil and India, hence they are proven commercially feasible and only need to be localised in South Africa,” he said.
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Mukaddam said as the industry, they are very excited about what the future holds. “Currently, we are seized with extensive work on the Reimagined Sugarcane Industry Strategy, which is an offspring of the all-important Sugar Value Chain Master Plan to 2030. Innovation and transformation are at the centre of this strategy.
“This is uncharted grounds for us as the industry but we believe that we are making progress. We are grateful to government, parliament and other stakeholders for their continued support during this time as we work tirelessly to ensure the sustainability of the sector, which currently creates 65 000 indirect and 270 000 indirect jobs.”
Mukaddam said with at least one million livelihoods in the job-starved rural regions of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga that are dependent on sugarcane growing and milling, government support is crucial to make product diversification a reality.
‘Sugar industry must be united’
Meanwhile, Sasta president Dr Muhammed Kadwa said the industry is faced with a lot of threatening challenges that need to be collectively addressed.
“The decline in world sugar prices this year, the health promotion levy or commonly known as the sugar tax, resultant damage to the industry and possible increases to the levy, the shocks of business rescue processes, the continued war on sugar in many countries as well as the threat of another surge of deep-sea sugar imports.
“The drive for continued sustainability re-emphasises the need to focus in this area. Some other sugar industries internationally have started on this path and others may follow shortly. We do not want to be left behind and fortunately much research has already taken place,” he explained.
Kadwa added that the industry had much to be grateful for, but they cannot afford to let their guard down and they must be united in their diversity to continuously sustain the livelihoods that rely on the industry in South Africa. The same goes for the rest of the Southern African countries’ sugar industry’s support.
“The cyclical nature of sugar economics is something we in South Africa strongly relate to, again showcasing the potential requirements to diversify our revenue streams in future.
“Change is needed, and we cannot do the same thing every day and expect different results to help direct our industry in its quest for long-term financial sustainability,” he said.
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