Cane growers call for sugar tax to be scrapped
The country's sugar industry says a new report on the socio-economic impact of the so-called sugar tax has highlighted the blow it's dealt the industry.
The report was commissioned by the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) at the request of a parliamentary committee.
The SA Canegrowers Association says it showed that by 2019, the sugar tax had resulted in over 16 000 total job losses in the overall economy - a R653 million rand decline in investment into the economy and a R1.19 billion rand decline in the contribution to GDP.
READ: Cane growers welcome biofuel study
The chairperson of the Sugarcane Growers Association, Rex Talmage said: "This new report comes on the back of millions of jobs lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with reports on Tuesday showing the unemployment rate up to 32.6%.
"Neither the sugar industry nor the country's unemployed can afford the continuation of the tax.
"This report, therefore, presents a critical moment for government to reflect on the impact on the tax and make the right call. The only choice we have is to scrap the sugar tax."
