SA’s sugar industry, which has been on the verge of collapse in recent years, is on a path to recovery with local sales up 12% year on year as the government and industry players push to stabilise the sector.
The industry generates an income of about R14bn a year, directly employs about 85,000 workers and supports at least 350,000 jobs across the value chain. However, it has been on the brink of collapse in recent times due to several headwinds, including a drop in sales volumes, partly due to the sugar tax , falling prices and stiff competition from cheap imports, mainly from Brazil. ..