SA sugar’s master plan: not as sweet as it seems
“South Africa’s annual sugar production has decreased by an average of almost 25% over the past 20 years. This is due to a combination of challenges, such as changing weather patterns, the impact of global warming, unfavourable tariffs, and the sugar tax. The South African Sugar Cane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030 aims to return the industry to success. However, it is lacking in its social and green strategy.
The master plan seeks to help companies ‘improve their industrial capacities and sophistication’. It suggests that the sugar cane value chain needs to be competitive and sustainable in order to ‘preserve and grow rural employment and sustainable livelihoods’. Although the terms ‘sustainable’
