This is according to the Chairman of SA Canegrowers, Andrew Russell, who tells the OFM Business Hour, that the country is nearly three years into the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP) under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as well as the Department of Agriculture. Russell says some of the plans are starting to come to fruition, but this progress is brought to a halt by the focus that is directed to the continued financial crisis at Tongaat Hulett and other milling companies. 

ALSO READ: OFM Business Hour: Sugar tax a threat to Agri master plan

SA Canegrowers revealed this week that Tongaat Hulett’s failure to settle its R900 million bill to the South African Sugar Association (SASA) in March 2023 as well as Gledhow Sugar Company’s recent default have reduced canegrowers’ revenue by 8%. The R 1,5 billion total default will now have to be shouldered by the growers, laments Russell.

SA Canegrowers seeking legal opinion on the matter 

SA Canegrowers says it is now seeking legal advice on the matter and has also reached out to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel for intervention, because they say 20 000 small-scale growers are in danger of losing their businesses owing to the defaults. Russell and company are blaming the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP) at these companies: 

"In declining to meet their industry obligations, the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP) at these companies are withholding funds generated from the work of the mills’ supplying growers to the detriment of these growers’ operations, workers, and suppliers. SA Canegrowers believes that the industrial obligations set out in the Sugar Act and Sugar Industry Agreement are mandatory and apply to all members of the sector, including growers, millers and refiners. The payments in question are levies and monies collected on behalf of the Grower Associations, SASA, and the other millers" he adds.

ALSO READ: Sugar crisis in SA

20 000 #smallscalegrowers are in danger of losing their businesses due to #TongaatHulett's failure to pay more than R900 million due to @SAfricanSugar & a further default by the #Gledhow mill. ??https://t.co/prQyaXPu8V

— SA Canegrowers (@sa_canegrowers) April 19, 2023

Tongaat Hulett’s former CFO censured by the JSE 

Meanwhile, Murray Munro, the former CFO of Tongaat Hulett, has been censured by the JSE and faces a R6 million fine for his role in misrepresenting the company’s financials between 2011 and 2018.

The JSE has also prohibited Munro from being a director of a listed company for a period of 10 years. 

OFM Business Hour