34 ENGINEERING NEWS | December 8–14, 2017 AN
SUGAR GROWERS, MILLERS & REFINERS
She explains further that South Africa
required 2.2-million tons of sugar in
2016/17, with the local production of sugar
supplying 76% of this amount. Swaziland
also supplied a small portion; however, the
remainder was imported from countries
like Brazil or the UAE.
The import of sugar reduces the price
that the local industry can charge per
ton, impacting the upstream market and
making the sugar industry unprofitable.
When sugar is sold at a loss, this has
an effect on the profitability of millers
and sugar cane farmers, which lose their
incentive to further invest in the industry,
as “farmers don’t buy new equipment
and millers do not want to employ more
workers” when they are short of funds.
South Africa has recently started to
export to the European Union (EU)
through the UK. Wilson explains that, if
this move had been made earlier, exporting
sugar would have been an attractive option- in November last year, when trade was
officially opened, the price for sugar in the
EU fell to only a few cents above that of
the international price.
Owing to the Brexit vote that took place
in the UK and more exports to the EU,
the cost of sugar to the EU has dropped
significantly over the last year.
“We have almost delivered our
full quota this year to the EU; although,
it doesn’t have quite the value we hoped
for. South Africa’s remaining sugar
surplus will, therefore, need to be sold to
the world market at a loss,” she adds.
Local Production
The South Africa sugar industry
generates R14-billion a year, with the
gross domestic product being exported
accounting for 0.6% of this value,
SASA executive director Trix Trikam
states.
He explains that the 2016/17 sugar
season produced 15.5-million tons of
sugar cane, with KwaZulu-Natal and
Mpumalanga being South Africa’s
only producers of sugar cane.
“In total, the area under cane is about360 000 ha. It’s a big number but there
isn’t anything else you can grow in these
areas.
“The rainfall and irrigation required
also effect what can be grown,” he states.
Trikam highlights that, while farms in
the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal and
Mpumalanga are irrigated, farms further
south rely almost entirely on irrigation
systems, owing to less precipitation.
Further, there are 14 mills spread
across both provinces that reduce the
cost of transporting sugar cane to mill
for farmers.
“There are 12 mills in KwaZulu-Natal
and two in Mpumalanga, which are
owned by sugar producers Illovo Sugar,
RCL Sugar & Milling, Tongaat Hulett
Sugar, Gledhow Sugar Company, UCL
and Umfolozi Sugar Mill.”
Further, he says, there are 21 750
registered cane growers in South Africa,
of which 20 500 are small-scale growers.
The sugar industry provides 85 000 direct
jobs, with a further 350 000 indirect
employment opportunities.
He concludes that SASA is helping
the industry grow further by helping in
the development of black farmers.
To date, the association has invested
R206-million in the development of
black sugar cane growers.
ENGINEERING NEWS COUPON ON PAGE 42 E472069May your neighbours respect you, trouble
neglect you, the angels protect you and Heaven
accept you!- From page 32
The Maydon Wharf port terminal at Durban
Harbour, in KwaZulu-Natal, was hit by storms
in October, which delayed the loading of ships
with sugar for export to London, in the UK, owing
to the damage it had caused which slowed
operations.
However, South African Sugar Association
(SASA) commercial director Judith Wilson
explains that the damage done to Maydon Wharf
was mostly cosmetic, with the damage to other
parts of the port preventing ships from berthing
at the dock.
“The silos at the port terminal weren’t badly
damaged, but the doors did blow off. However,
the warehouses next to us had their roofs blown
off, while many containers and boats were
damaged by the storm, as were yachts,” she
highlights.
The channels into the harbour were blocked
and a few of the berths were made redundant.
However, the sugar terminal, especially the
sugar silos, have been designed in such a way
that they are resistant to wind and weather,
which helped Maydon Wharf remain relatively
undamaged.
Wilson states that the cargo ship Centurius, a
ship that berthed on November 7, was delayed
for three weeks, owing to the damages.
The port terminal is sensitive to weather,
even normal rainy days slow the pace atwhich a ship can be loaded with sugar.
Following the storm, there were some delays,
but State-owned enterprise Transnet National
Ports Authority employed its port emergency
plan, which “I think minimised what could have
been a bigger disaster”, she states.
Wilson goes on to explain that the Maydon
Wharf port terminal allows for a ship to be loaded
within two-and-a-half days. However, if there is a
small amount of rain, a ship’s master can close
the doors and halt any further loading until the
weather improves.
Earlier this month, Engineering News reported
that a shipment of 31 000 t of bulk raw sugar was
dispatched to London from Durban’s Maydon
Wharf.
This shipment aboard the Centurius marks the
third export of sugar to a European Union (EU)
country after the instatement of the new Southern
African Development Community–EU Economic
Partnership Agreement last year.
Centurius berthed at the Maydon Wharf on
November 1 and is also the first ship to dock at
the sugar terminal, following the repair of minor
damage caused by the storm.
Wilson concludes that the Western Baltic,
destined for China, was scheduled to take in
sugar cargo on November 4, while loading of
King Beans, destined for Japan, was scheduled
to start on November 7.FLEXIBLE DOCKSDEVELOPMENT PUSH
The South African Sugar Association has used over R206-million to develop black sugar cane
growers in the industryPicture by Victor Moolman