South Africa’s 2026/27 sugarcane milling season has started strongly, with early deliveries tracking ahead of previous years, says industry organisation South African Canegrowers' Association (SA Canegrowers).

All sugar mills in the country, except for the three mills of distressed sugar miller Tongaat Hulett, have opened for the season, and early season statistics show that 48% more raw sugarcane has been delivered to the mills by growers compared with the same period in the prior year.

The three remaining Tongaat Hulett sugar mills are expected to also open in the coming weeks and begin accepting cane deliveries from growers in their respective regions. Tongaat Hulett’s three mills serve 18 000 of the 28 000 sugarcane growers in the country.

“The industry continues to show remarkable resilience under extremely difficult conditions,” says SA Canegrowers chairperson Higgins Mdluli.

Significant uncertainty persists in the sugar industry. Tongaat Hulett recently received R200-million in additional, temporary operational funding support from development financing agency Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) while negotiations aimed at avoiding liquidation continue.

The liquidation application will return to court on June 17 and discussions are still ongoing between stakeholders, including the Tongaat Hulett business rescue practitioners, acquiring consortium Vision Group and the IDC.

Additionally, South Africa continues to experience high levels of imported sugar entering the local market from countries such as Brazil, India and Thailand. This sugar is displacing locally grown sugar.

For every ton that is imported, the sugar industry loses more than R7 500.

In March, 16 000 t of imported sugar entered South Africa, which was double that of March 2025. Last year was one of the worst years on record in terms of sugar imports, with 213 000 t imported from duty-bearing countries, SA Canegrowers points out.

If nothing changes, this year is set to repeat this pattern, which will place significant strain on sugarcane growers and milling companies, including Tongaat Hulett, Mdluli notes.

“The current sugar tariff mechanism is outdated and does not adequately protect the local industry against heavily subsidised global competitors. Many major sugar-producing countries provide extensive State support to their industries, which artificially suppresses global sugar prices and undermines the competitiveness of South African producers locally and in the export market.

“The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) is currently reviewing the tariff mechanism for imported sugar. The process of review was started by the sugar industry in October 2024. One-million livelihoods in the country are exposed to this existential threat.

“We urge both the IDC and Itac to prioritise the sustainability of the local sugar industry. Many rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga depend on sugarcane farming for jobs and economic activity, and the industry supports more than a million livelihoods across the value chain,” he says.

Further, despite ongoing challenges, growers continue to demonstrate that South Africa can produce sufficient, cost competitive sugar to meet local demand.

The industry’s significant contribution to food security, rural development and the national economy must receive the protection and policy attention it deserves, says Mdluli.