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Mail & Guardian

South African Sugar Association

latest news & developments
Ghost towns: The mills in Tongaat, Maidstone and Felixton have fallen silent. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
BIO ETHANOL

Allowing liquidation of Tongaat Hulett will roll back the gains of the Sugar Value Chain Master Plan  

Flexibility in the sugar value chain is essential to ensure its long-term sustainability

  • Sandile Motha
3 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT SOUTH AFRICA

Sugar industry wants delay on increasing tax crippling the sector

The sector says the health promotion tax introduced in 2018 has hurt sugar producers and cost jobs

  • Anathi Madubela
3 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AGRICULTURE FUNDING FEUD

Not so sweet: Sugar industry stakeholders fight about funding

Small-scale and black-owned sugarcane farmers along with land reform beneficiaries have received R238.9 million in funding for transformation, but transparency has now become an…

  • Anathi Madubela
2 min read
If the liquidation application against Tongaat Hulett proceeds, it could have severe socio-economic consequences for rural economies in small towns across KwaZulu-Natal.
ANC

RGS abandons Tongaat bid, claims business rescue is rigged

Bidder says rescue practitioners tried to manipulate process to favour ANC funder Robert Gumede

  • Paddy Harper
3 min read
Ghost towns: The mills in Tongaat, Maidstone and Felixton have fallen silent. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
BUSINESS

UPDATED: Crucial Tongaat Hulett creditors vote is postponed again as parties head to court over unpaid industry levies

ANC funder Robert Gumede’s bid for the sugar giant may be on the rocks

  • Paddy Harper
8 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
DISBURSEMENT

Black, small-scale sugarcane growers hit by Tongaat Hulett woes get R176m lifeline

The South African Sugar Association will make payments for the 2023-24 season after sugar mills in northern KwaZulu-Natal defaulted on payments

  • Anathi Madubela
3 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
GLEDHOW

Sugarcane farmers at risk if mills keep defaulting on payments

Some farmers are opting to diversify to crops like macadamia nuts, bananas and avocados, but this takes time and money

  • Anathi Madubela
7 min read
Shuttered: Shakaskraal, in KZN, was prosperous before the cane mill closed and the sugar industry declined, exacerbated recently by the troubles at Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CHAKASKRAAL

Sugar industry slump a bitter pill for North Coast towns

Shakaskraal is a microcosm of what lies ahead for many towns KwaZulu-Natal if its ailing sugar mills collapse

  • Anathi Madubela
6 min read
Gledhow Sugar Mill has become the latest sugar mill to enter into voluntary business rescue, piling pressure on the industry after a similar move by Tongaat Hulett in October. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
BUSINESS RESCUE PLAN

After Tongaat, KZN sugar mill Gledhow seeks business rescue

Thousands of livelihoods in the sugar supply chain are expected to be impacted by the closure

  • Anathi Madubela
3 min read
Investing in both branding and marketing is likely to boost business. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
ENOCH GODONGWANA

Sugar tax on drinks postponed until 2023

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced a postponement of the sugar tax for 12 months

  • Anathi Madubela
2 min read
Discussions with local colleagues in paediatrics revealed how a single video or instant message with false information was enough to dissuade parents from believing in medical therapies, writes the author. (Madelene Cronje/M&G)
COCA COLA

Sugar tariff hike satisfies no one

The increase is less than local producers wanted, while companies say it entrenches inefficiencies

  • Lynley Donnelly
6 min read
SA’s top teams competed at the Fistivus fistball festival at Wynberg Park in Cape Town.
SASA

SA’s sugar industry under assault

But health groups say the sector’s enduring woes have nothing to do with the sugar tax

  • Lynley Donnelly
5 min read