South African Business 2024

OVERVIEW
Maydon Wharf, Durban, serves
11 mills and can store more than
half-a-million tons of sugar.
National assets
invested more than R400-million in off-crop capital maintenance
between December 2022 and April 2023.
In 2023, the BRP produced a statement which read, in part: “It is
beyond question that the successful rescue of especially THL’s sugar
operations in South Africa will save tens of thousands, possibly hundreds
of thousands, of direct and indirect jobs. We take this responsibility very
seriously and are confident that Tongaat Hulett has a future.” A number
of bids to buy the company have been made.
The sugar industry itself faces many challenges, not least the
imposition of a sugar tax and imports from countries such as Brazil, India
and Thailand. Diversification is vital for the future and power 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. Of the 10 443 farmers who supply Tongaat Hulett, 94% are smallscale
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
ONLINE RESOURCES
Agricultural Research Council: www.arc.agric.za
Grain SA: www.grainsa.co.za
SA Table Grape Industry: www.satgi.co.za
South African Berry Producers’ Association: www.berriesza.co.za
AgriSA states that the amount of
agricultural land in South Africa
in 2016 stood at 93.5-million
hectares. This represents 76.3% of
South Africa’s total land mass of
122.5-million hectares and about
3% less than in 1994.
A total of 70% of South Africa’s
grain production is maize, which
covers 60% of the cropping area
of the country. KwaZulu-Natal
and Mpumalanga produce sugar,
but volumes are down.
The Free State Province
supplies significant proportions of
the nation’s sorghum, sunflower,
potatoes, groundnuts, dry beans,
and almost all of its cherries.
South Africa is famous for
its fruit, of which 35% is citrus,
23% subtropical and nuts, 26%
pome fruit, 11% stone fruit and
9% table grapes. Most of South
Africa’s citrus and subtropical fruit
comes from the eastern part of
Limpopo. There are about 3 500
wine producers in South Africa,
with the majority located in the
Western Cape.
The Eastern Cape is the largest
livestock province, which includes
Angora goats, from whom
mohair is taken. The province is
the centre of the country’s mohair
value chain. South Africa has a
beef herd of 14-million. South
Africa’s milk producers normally
produce about 3.3-billion litres of
milk every year. ■
PHOTO: MeatmasterSA
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SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2024