Sugar prices under pressure, Tongaat Hulett
FMCG SUPPLIER NEWS
VenturesAfrica.com - Aug 5th, 09:35
VENTURES AFRICA – Sugar prices continue to slide in Tongaat Hulett’s (Tongaat) regional markets, CEO Peter Staude, admitted on Wednesday, adding the global prices have been their lowest in several years.
Staude was presenting the sugar producer’s trading update after the shareholders of the company held the annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday.
The company said in the regional markets where it has operations, it is facing a time of stress on selling prices. Imports were also under stress because of the current low world prices.
Staude said the industry had applied to the South African authorities to have import duties increased by the sector.
Import duty is a tax collected on imports and some exports by South Africa’s customs authorities.
Tongaat believes the South African sugar sector’s export pricing currently shows a decline of about “5 US cents per Pound” when likened to the previous year.
The company is also reviewing spending in the planting of cane in South Africa and its neighbour Mozambique. Itis also on the lookout for development funding to assist private growers.
The company has put a halt on cane sprouting in Zimbabwe and root farming for private growers and own estates.
It said these projects will be resumed once dam levels recover in Zimbabwe, which is currently experiencing low dam levels.
Staude said the next 24 months would unlock value from Tongaat’s land holdings in South Africa.
He said forecasts are increasingly getting very important, with more terrain becoming “shovel ready” in the second half of this year.© 2013 Ventures Africa. All Rights Reserved
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