Industry body SA Canegrowers has once again called on government to urgently scrap the Health Promotion Levy, or sugar tax, in light of a surge in imported sugar that is displacing locally produced sugar.

The organisation says government, industry partners and consumers must stand together to protect a sector that underpins many rural economies.

The local sugar industry comprises more than 27 000 small-scale and 1 100 large-scale sugarcane farmers, which supports more than one-million livelihoods. Yet all stakeholders across the value chain have experienced pressure owing to rising input costs, volatile global markets, sugar imports and the sugar tax.

Data published by the South African Revenue Service shows that 153 344 t of imported sugar entered South Africa between January and September 2025, compared with imports of 55 213 t in the same months of 2024 and 20 924 t in the same months of 2020.

This marks a 400% increase in sugar imports, while locally produced sugar sold or used by commercial end-users decreased by 100 000 t.

Imported sugar is often heavily subsidised in exporting countries, but the only people who benefit are the agents who import the sugar into South Africa. These parties are often able to reap high profits by selling the sugar at local market prices, explains SA Canegrowers chairperson Higgins Mdluli.

This while the global sugar market is currently characterised by persistent oversupply and heavily distorted trade, with large exporting countries able to offload surplus sugar at artificially low prices owing to subsidies, currency advantages and weak global demand growth.

“In this environment, protecting South Africa’s domestic market is critical. Without effective safeguards, local growers are forced to compete against dumped imports while simultaneously facing policies that suppress local demand.

“Allowing imported sugar to displace locally produced sugar under these conditions undermines food security, erodes rural economies and places a strategic agricultural sector at long-term risk,” Mdluli says.

South Africa’s sugarcane growers produce more than enough sugar to meet local demand, which means imported sugar effectively displaces locally produced sugar from retail shelves and food and beverage manufacturers.

Simultaneously, SA Canegrowers remains concerned about the ongoing reliance on the sugar tax to punish local drinks manufacturers who include sugar in their drinks.

Mdluli affirms that the industry fully supports efforts to address public health challenges; however, it maintains that there is no evidence that the sugar tax has delivered any meaningful health outcomes, but it has indeed inflicted significant economic damage on growers, millers and workers.

When the sugar tax was introduced in 2018, the industry shed more than 16 000 jobs in the first year alone.

“The sugar tax is an unproven policy experiment with very real consequences for rural jobs and investment. Any future decisions must be informed by a balanced assessment of health data and a calorie-intake survey of South Africans, balanced with the impact on the economy and on the sustainability of local food production,” Mdluli states.

SA Canegrowers implores government to act decisively to ensure fair trade conditions, including the effective implementation of existing import protection measures, and to engage meaningfully with industry on policies that affect the sector’s long-term viability.

Consumers, too, have a role to play by supporting locally produced sugar and recognising the broader social and economic value of the industry.

“Saving the sugar industry is not just about growers; it is about communities, jobs and South Africa’s ability to produce its own food. By standing together now, we can protect a strategic sector and secure a more sustainable future for generations to come.”