Durban sugar export terminal
Photo by: Creamer Media's Marleny Arnoldi
Industry body the South Africa Sugar Association (SASA) has appointed Sifiso Mhlaba CEO, succeeding Trix Trikam who retired as head of the organisation on November 1.
Trikam led the organisation for 26 years, adding to a total 43-year tenure at the SASA.
Before his appointment as CEO, Mhlaba worked as the SASA’s national market and trade policy director.
Prior to joining the SASA in 2015, he was a regulatory and competition economist at consultancy DNA Economics.
Mhlaba himself is a small-scale sugarcane farmer with an operation in Mpumalanga.
Commenting on his new role, Mhlaba says he looks forward to working closely with the SASA’s internal and external stakeholders on ensuring the sustainability of the sugar industry, which makes a markable contribution to socioeconomic development in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
The SASA is progressing industry transformation efforts through the “reimagined cane industry strategy” which emphasises innovation and product diversification. 