SA sugar industry achieves R1bn
JOHANNESBURG – The South African (SA) Canegrowers Association on Wednesday said that it would invest more than R1 billion in transformation funding over the next five years.
The industry has weathered a five-year storm of crisis and noted the funding would be critical in sustaining the livelihoods of more than 21 000 small-scale growers and their farm workers.
According to a statement, in January 2024, the SA Sugar Association distributed nearly R176 million in dedicated transformation funding alone.
“This brings the total paid out to smallscale and black growers as well as land reform beneficiaries between 2019/2020 and 2023/2024 to more than R1 billion,” the association said.
Distributed
“These payments, to which growers contribute 64 per cent, have been distributed bi-annually over the five-year period.”
This funding commitment also supported the Sugar cane Value Chain Masterplan, according to the association and would help to continue protecting vital jobs within the industry and restructuring it for a sustainable, diversified future.
In mid-January, Tongaat Hulett’s lenders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Vision Consortium’s bid to take southern Africa’s biggest sugar producer out of business rescue, ending a period of uncertainty for the more than 100-year-old company and its employees.
The Vision Consortium is tied to businessman Robert Gumede, with Mauritius-registered companies Terris, Guma, Remoggoa and Almoiz, which is registered in the United Arab Emirates.
Gumede is the founder of the IT firm Gijima Technologies.
Essentially, Vision Consortium plans to buy out some R7.7 billion of lender claims against Tongaat and convert most of this (about R4.1bn) to equity, maintain the listing, enable existing shareholders to retain a minority stake, as well as ensure all payments owed were made to the South African Sugar Association in line with industry regulatory functions.