Press Statement bn Andrew Russell – Vice-Chairman : SA Canegrowers
May 19, 2025
For immediate release
South Africa’s sugarcane growers welcome proposed DTIC exemption that would support employment, growth
Under newly proposed draft regulations, South African retailers, commercial food and beverage producers would be allowed to negotiate with sugarcane growers and millers in order to secure a commitment to prioritise procuring local sugar instead of imports. Such a commitment will support the more than a million livelihoods that the South African sugar industry sustains.
This is if the draft regulations for a block exemption from Competition Commission regulations, published earlier this month by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, is passed into law.
SA Canegrowers welcomes these draft exemptions, as it will allow for joint planning, inclusive decision-making, and stability in the sector, without violating competition laws. It will also allow for negotiations that will create a fair pricing structure for consumers.
Commercial users are a key market for local sugarcane growers, and securing a commitment to use local sugar will safeguard tens of thousands of rural jobs in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. SA Canegrowers is an industry body representing 24,000 small-scale and 1,200 large-scale sugarcane growers.
Normally, cooperation and negotiation between independent entities would be in contravention of Competition Commission regulations, but the DTIC recognised that the South African sugar industry is vital to the economy and an essential provider of jobs in rural areas of South Africa.
The proposed exemptions were negotiated as part of the ongoing Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan 2030, a social compact between the broader sugar industry and the government aimed at stabilising the sector, saving jobs and promoting transformation and sustainability.
The sugar industry – and especially the thousands of sugarcane growers – are facing increasing threats to its sustainability, including imported sugar flooding the market and the negative effects of the Health Promotion Levy (sugar tax).
The Master Plan process has been essential in investigating ways to diversify into other products such as biofuels or sustainable aviation fuels. The draft exemptions will also enable negotiations to take place that will be necessary for diversification projects to get off the ground, as some level of collaboration and coordination between independent sugar industry parties will be required to secure investment into new technologies, industries, and processes.
SA Canegrowers welcomes Minister Tau’s and his department’s commitment to the sugar industry. His support has been critical for the thousands of farm-level jobs and will be critical if sugar industry diversification is to succeed.
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For media enquiries:
Gerhard Mulder
gerhard@resolvecommunications.co.za
083 305 9361
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