Media statement by SA Canegrowers
March 11, 2026
Sugar imports are continuing to flood the local market, displacing locally produced refined sugar from retailers and food and beverage manufacturers, and threatening the long-term viability of the industry. According to data from SARS as tracked by SA Canegrowers, January 2026 alone saw 24,600 tons of deep-sea sugar imports entering South Africa from countries such as Brazil, India and Thailand. This single month’s imports exceeded the total imports recorded for entire previous years in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
On the back to the state visit to Brazill, we urge President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss this matter with President da Silva, and to insist that sugar imports to South Africa from Brazil are stopped immediately, as the country is self-sufficient in sugar production.
Imports of sugar accelerated sharply last year, with almost 200,000 tons of imported refined sugar entering the country over the course of 2025 due to a combination of a low global sugar price, stronger rand/dollar exchange rate, and weak South African import tariff protections. Early data from 2026 indicates that imports are still rising and adjustments to the import tariff have had no effect, further undermining the stability of the local industry.
Sugar is being imported by opportunistic agents who take advantage of a low global sugar price and weak local tariff protections, but who sell this sugar locally at similar prices to locally produced sugar. The profits go to the import agents and results in no savings to consumers in South Africa. This in turn means that jobs are being exported at the expense of the SA sugar industry.
“This surge of imported refined sugar is displacing locally grown and produced sugar from the South African market,” said Higgins Mdluli, chairman of SA Canegrowers. The local sugar industry loses more than R7,000 per ton of locally produced sugar that is displaced by imports. This is a combined knock of R1.5 billion on the industry over the 2025/26 season, a huge impact during a time when the local industry can least afford it.
“The South African sugar industry supports over a million livelihoods and is the lifeblood of entire rural economies in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. We need a tariff framework that effectively ensures the domestic industry can compete with unfairly subsidised imports. Ensuring a fair trading environment for locally produced sugar is critical if the industry is to remain viable and continue supporting growers, workers, and communities.” SA Canegrowers continues to urge ITAC to finalise the tariff review and to implement adequate protection for this very important industry.
Last week, the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, engaged with the sugar industry in person, along with key stakeholders in his department, including ITAC, which administers tariffs. The surge in imports is one of many crises facing the sugar industry, with the potential liquidation of Tongaat Hulett and the escalating oil price adding additional concern over the long-term future of growers.
Urgent action is required to not only secure Tongaat Hulett’s future, but to address the tariff structure that has caused sugar imports to eat into the local industry. Tongaat Hulett operates three mills and is South Africa’s only stand-alone sugar refinery, with white sugar being required by food and drink manufacturers due to its flavour profile; exactly the type of foreign sugar that is flooding the local market.
“Resolving the Tongaat Hulett crisis is essential for the stability of the industry, and we remain hopeful that a workable solution can be found,” Mdluli said. “However, even if Tongaat Hulett is rescued, it will operate in an environment where weak import tariffs undermine its core business, unless the tariff is urgently resolved.”
ENDS
For media enquiries:
Gerhard Mulder
gerhard@resolvecommunications.co.za
083 305 9361
Katharine Child
kath@resolvecommunications.co.za
083 566 7223