KwaZulu-Natal Business 2023-24

OVERVIEW
Women in Farming participants on a butternut field in Empolweni.
generation will be an important part of that. Neither of the Big Two
companies relies exclusively on South African sugar earnings: the
troubled Tongaat Hulett has a big property portfolio and Illovo draws
most of its profit from operations elsewhere in Africa.
A start has been made on tackling the many challenges faced
by the sugar industry: the Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan 2030
has been signed by two national government ministers and various
sector participants. An important part of the transformation of the
sugar industry involves supporting small-scale farmers. Of the 10 443
farmers who supply Tongaat Hulett, 94% are small-scale farmers. The
Illovo Small-Scale Grower Cane Development Project used 119 local
contractors to develop the fields of 1 630 new growers on 3 000ha.
SA Canegrowers represents 23 866 growers and is responsible
for the production of 18.9-million cane tons. The Sugar Terminal at
Maydon Wharf, Durban, serves 11 mills and can store more than halfa-million
tons of sugar. It also has a molasses mixing plant.
Agricultural assets
Of KwaZulu-Natal’s 6.5-million hectares of agricultural land, 18% is
arable and the balance is suitable for the rearing of livestock. The
ONLINE RESOURCES
KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union: www.kwanalu.co.za
Milk Producers Organisation: www.mpo.co.za
South African Cane Growers’ Association: www.sacanegrowers.co.za
South African Sugar Association: www.sasa.org.za
province’s forests occur mostly
in the southern and northern
edges of the province.
The coastal areas
lend themselves to sugar
production and fruit, with
subtropical fruits doing
particularly well in the north.
KwaZulu-Natal produces 7% of
South Africa’s citrus fruit. The
Coastal Farmers Co-operative
represents 1 400 farmers.
TWK is a R6-billion operation
that originated in forestry
but which is now a diverse
agricultural company with
seven operating divisions. It
has 19 trade outlets in the
province and 21 in Swaziland
and Mpumalanga.
Beef originates mainly in the
Highveld and Midlands areas,
with dairy production being
undertaken in the Midlands and
south. The province produces
18% of South Africa’s milk.
KwaZulu-Natal’s subsistence
farmers hold 1.5-million cattle,
which represents 55% of the
provincial beef herd, and their
goat herds account for 74%
of the province’s stock. The
Midlands is also home to some
of the country’s finest racehorse
stud farms. The area around
Camperdown is one of the
country’s most important areas
for pig farming. Vegetables grow
well in most areas, and some
maize is grown in the northwest.
Nuts such as pecan and
macadamia thrive.
Enterprise iLembe, the
development arm of the iLembe
District Municipality, is looking
for investors to further develop
an agro-processing hub near
the King Shaka International
Airport and Dube TradePort. ■
PHOTO: Sisekelo Duma
19 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2023/24