Sugar cane farming is the lifeblood of rural communities
By Winston Mfeka
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Durban - WITH an estimated 20 200 sugar cane growers in Kwazulu-Natal and southern Mpumalanga, sugar cane farming remains the lifeblood of rural communities.
However, the industry is facing a crisis as it has been shown in reports that sugar production in South Africa has declined by 25% over the last 20 years.
This has been due to manipulated sugar prices, increasing volumes of low-priced tariff- free exports and the sugar containing drink tax that was introduced in April 2018With these factors, the demand for sugar is expected to decline, and ultimately jobs in the sugar cane industry could be under threat.