TUESDAY, 11.30AM:
THE South African sugar industry may grow quite easily after two seasons of record harvests, according to Dan MacLeod, South African Sugar Association chairman.
The 1997/98 season produced a record 2404-million tons of the sweetener, and the 1998/99 harvest has been estimated to be about 2,7-million tons.
A normal crop is at present not larger than 2,5-million tons.
“I think by 2001 the industry can produce 2,8-million tons as a normal crop under normal weather conditions,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod added that this year’s crop is abnormally good because of the perfect growing conditions and good rains. He predicted that Mpumalanga, Pongola and Eston in KwaZulu-Natal, are areas where production might increase.