Media statement by SA Canegrowers
June 11, 2026
With the KwaZulu-Natal High Court reconvening on June 17 to hear arguments in the liquidation application of Tongaat Hulett, vast areas of rural KwaZulu-Natal are watching with growing concern as it could signal imminent job losses and economic devastation. About 60% of South Africa’s sugarcane growers supply Tongaat Hulett mills.
Should Tongaat Hulett enter an unfunded liquidation, it is not only the operations at the company’s assets that will cease to operate. Economic activity in large areas of KwaZulu-Natal that rely on the company will also come to an immediate halt. Sugarcane growers will have nowhere to supply their cane, potentially excluding as much as 4.6 million tons of raw sugarcane from the local value chain every year. Tens of thousands of workers on farms will become unemployed, and entire communities will lose the income that drives secondary businesses: transporters, fuel stations, restaurants, shops and supermarkets.
The government’s own industrial policy objectives underscore why intervention in the sugar industry, and particularly in the future of Tongaat Hulett, is both necessary and urgent. The recently published Revised Industrial Development Strategy is intended to create thousands of jobs annually, with a strong emphasis on skills development and preparing workers for growth sectors such as renewable energy and manufacturing.
But if nothing is done, the sugar industry will achieve the opposite of these aims, at speed and at scale.
The sugar industry is a cornerstone of rural industrialisation, with a long-established value chain from farms to agro-processing to the market. This value chain supports over a million livelihoods in South Africa. At the same time, sugarcane offers one of South Africa’s most promising feedstocks for the development of a domestic biofuels industry, creating opportunities for new green jobs, investment and energy security. Should Tongaat Hulett enter unfunded liquidation, it would force the large commercial beverage and snack manufacturers to rely solely on imported white sugar, further exposing the local economy to the instability of global sugar prices.
“Saving Tongaat Hulett is not simply about preserving one company, it is about protecting a strategic industrial value chain that aligns directly with the government’s employment and industrialisation agenda,” said Higgins Mdluli, chairman of SA Canegrowers. “Without intervention, South Africa risks losing critical agricultural and industrial capacity, rural livelihoods and a platform for future growth in renewable fuels.”
It is important to note that Tongaat Hulett has not yet entered formal liquidation. Stakeholders, including SA Canegrowers, are actively engaged in discussions to explore options that may prevent liquidation entirely.
SA Canegrowers believes that with the right support, Tongaat Hulett can become a catalyst for both safeguarding existing jobs and unlocking the next generation of green industrial opportunities.
“We call on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to pursue all options available to them to save Tongaat Hulett from liquidation,” Mdluli said.
ENDS
For media queries:
Gerhard Mulder
gerhard@resolvecommunications.co.za
083 305 9361