As the hearing for the liquidation of Tongaat Hulett approaches in less than two weeks, it is imperative that there is certainty regarding the future of this company, vital to the survival of the country’s sugar industry.
Tongaat Hulett is the largest producer of white refined sugar in South Africa, a crucial ingredient for soft drinks, snacks, and confectionery. If the company is allowed to enter an unfunded liquidation and the uncertainty continues, the commercial demand for white sugar will inevitably shift abroad, reducing the local market’s demand for South African sugar and threatening the entire sugar value chain.
Chairman of SA Canegrowers Higgins Mdluli said, “We urgently call upon the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), business rescue practitioners Metis Strategic Advisors, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to take all necessary measures to avert liquidation. If liquidation is unavoidable, we advocate for a funded process, known as a funded liquidation, in which funds are provided to allow the mills to continue operating.”
He added: “SA Canegrowers has written to Minister Zuko Godlimpi to ask that the DTIC step in and do all that is necessary to ensure Tongaat Hulett is saved. The potential collapse of Tongaat Hulett poses a significant threat to the entire KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga sugar industry.”
Over 18,000 growers rely directly on Tongaat Hulett’s three mills to crush their cane. Of these growers, around 17,500 are small-scale growers dependent on sugar production. Growers need certainty that Tongaat’s mills will remain open for the entire season. Transporting cane to mills further afield would lead to prohibitively high costs. Without Tongaat’s operations these growers would lose essential income in areas with few other economic prospects.
Saving Tongaat Hulett is not merely about preserving a business; it is about safeguarding the entire sugar industry and rural stability within South Africa.
Furthermore, our high levels of sugar imports that are priced lower than the cost of local production continue to flood into South Africa. Many foreign nations heavily subsidise their sugar industries, enabling them to sell sugar at prices that are unsustainably low for local producers.
From April 2025 to March 2026, 213 322 tonnes of sugar was imported into South Africa, more than double the 98 860 tonnes imported in the prior year.
Mdluli said: “To protect our sugar industry effectively, South Africa needs a robust tariff regime that shields it from imports, with tariffs adjusted timeously in response to fluctuations in global sugar prices. A stronger tariff is also urgently needed to reduce the incentive to import sugar, something ITAC is investigating.”
We call on the Department of Trade, Industry and Commission to do what it can to save Tongaat Hulett and protect all canegrowers against the rising tide of imports flooding into South Africa.
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