Local jobs depend on South Africans buying locally grown sugar

HEAVILY subsidised sugar from countries including Brazil and India is currently displacing locally grown sugar from local suppliers, and this is putting thousands of South African jobs at risk.

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South African growers produce enough sugarcane that can be processed to supply all of our country’s sugar needs, but for every ton of imported sugar in South Africa, local growers lose a significant amount of income, threatening to lead to job losses and devastation in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal's rural economies.

In just June and July this year, 90 000 tons of sugar were imported, leading to a loss of R684 million in revenue for the South African sugar industry.

This means that local growers have less to invest in their operations, to pay wages, and to support their local rural communities.

Much of the imported sugar originates from countries that not only subsidise their farmers, but also heavily support the export of surplus sugar to offload it onto global markets.

These trade practices distort international prices, and opportunistic importers have been quick to seize the opportunity.

The model is simple: import sugar at subsidised rates, sell it to South Africans at the same price as locally produced sugar, and pocket the margin. The only party that benefits is the importer, most of which are foreign. Retailers and consumers likely see no difference in cost.

But every bag of imported sugar sold in a supermarket, or every ton used by a food or beverage producer, displaces locally grown sugar.