SA Canegrowers calls for sugar tax to be scrapped as imports threaten
local industry
SA CANEGROWERS has called on government to urgently scrap the sugar tax, warning that a sharp rise in subsidised sugar imports is displacing locally produced sugar and pushing South Africa’s sugar industry deeper into crisis.
The industry supports more than one million livelihoods across KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, anchored by 27,000 small-scale and 1,100 large-scale growers. Yet growers have faced unprecedented pressure over the past year as rising input costs and volatile global markets collide with weak domestic demand. SA Canegrowers argues the sugar tax is compounding this distress.
According to the organisation’s analysis of SARS data, 153,344 tonnes of imported sugar entered South Africa between January and September 2025, compared with just 20,924 tonnes over the same period in 2020. The previous peak was 55,213 tonnes in 2024.
“Imported sugar is often heavily subsidised in exporting countries, but the only beneficiaries are import agents able to sell at local prices,” said SA Canegrowers chair Higgins Mdluli.
He warned that South African growers are being forced to compete with dumped imports while policies such as the sugar tax suppress local demand. The tax, introduced in 2018, saw more than 16,000 jobs lost in its first year, with no clear evidence of improved health outcomes.
SA Canegrowers is calling for stronger import protections and meaningful engagement with industry, arguing that scrapping the sugar tax would be a critical first step to safeguard rural economies, jobs and food security.
