In 2023, South Africa’s sugar industry faced challenges with major milling companies in business rescue. However, sugarcane farmers and industry members await a brighter 2024 amid uncertainty and adversity.
Dr Siyabonga Madlala, the executive chairman of the South African Farmers’ Development Association (Safda), said the most critical thing for the South African sugar industry before the end of the 2023 season was the two milling companies entangled in business rescue proceedings and court interdicts.
This he said, introduced a notable element of uncertainty for the year ahead and that better days depended on the outcome of the business rescue processes for Gledhow Sugar and Tongaat Hullet.
Hanging in limbo
“We are hanging in limbo about what the outcomes for both cases will be. We will have to wait and see if farmers will have enough milling capacity for next year and whether the industry will be able to supply local sugar. It’s a big challenge for the industry now.
“They are the suppliers of refined sugar and they impact the supply of refined sugar in the country and I would say we are interdependent with the milling. Without two milling facilities, then farmers are destitute,” said Madlala.
Nothing happy about the new year
Rodney Mbuyazi, a sugarcane and livestock farmer in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal shared his frustrations. However, he remains hopeful that things will improve soon. As a supplier to Tongaat Hulett, Mbuyazi has encountered significant challenges, making his situation particularly difficult.
“We are preparing for 2024 and we are positive that processes will go on and yield positive results, if there is support from the government, especially for us as black disadvantaged farmers. We expect the government to lend a helping hand because we have faced bad weather conditions like flooding and they have promised to send help, but no help was given. It’s been very bad for us last year,” he said.
In the region of Eatonville, where he resides, they encountered a storm that cost sugarcane farmers in the area dearly, Mbuyazi said. Despite being requested to provide evidence and submit requests, there was no positive outcome. As a result, they depleted their reserves, struggling to keep up with high production and labour costs.
Mbuyazi thinks that sugar prices will likely increase due to high production expenses and other, industry-related challenges.
“If there is an increase in prices we farmers don’t always benefit from it. Prices have not been too expensive recently, I would say they have been fair for the consumers.”
ALSO READ: Schweet! Sugar industry hails Tongaat Hulett takeover
Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain.
