An industry insider stressed how vitally important it is to ensure that the mills continue operating because of their fundamental importance for the conversion of cane to sugar.
The industry insider said the major problem is that nobody is prepared to put up the between R300 million or R400 million required for the maintenance and refurbishment of the mills.No numbers yet But he said this support will only be concretised when the terms of a deal are agreed with the BRPs at Tongaat so the ultimate partners to the consortium can be confirmed.Cleasby said the offer to join the consortium will be extended to the more than 11 000 small-scale growers and 400 commercial and land reform growers that supply the Tongaat mills, as well as a number of strategic partners.
Cleasby said NewCo represents one of the few viable opportunities to save more than 11 000 small-scale growers, more than 20 000 jobs in the cane growing sector alone, and a significantly greater number of indirect job losses in the region.