Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has stepped in to prevent the liquidation of struggling sugar giant Tongaat Hulett, warning that its collapse would devastate communities across KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
The embattled company, in business rescue since 2022 following an accounting scandal, faces a provisional liquidation hearing on 27 February. Tau confirmed his department will oppose the application, arguing the company can still be saved.
The intervention comes after funding talks between prospective buyer Vision Group and the Industrial Development Corporation collapsed.
Tongaat has funds to operate until the crushing season starts in April, but its future remains uncertain.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen warned that 15,500 cane growers could be unable to deliver their crop if the impasse continues.
While Tongaat’s troubles began with governance failures, industry players say a surge in cheap imports has pushed the sector to breaking point.
Imports reached 163,000 tonnes by December 2025, a 155% increase from the previous season. These subsidised imports have displaced local sugar from retailers, forcing producers to export at a loss.
SA Canegrowers warned that the import surge, combined with the sugar tax, is strangling the industry. Since 2018, the sugar tax has cost the sector an estimated 16,000 jobs and R2 billion in revenue.
Tongaat operates three mills and is the country’s only white sugar refiner. It is the sole milling option for 18,000 growers.
If operations cease, 40,000 direct workers face immediate unemployment, while 250,000 jobs supported by the sector are at risk. More than 1 million tonnes of sugarcane worth R845 million are at stake this season.
SA Canegrowers warned that rural communities would be “vulnerable to economic and social unrest.”
Tau has initiated amendments to better regulate the local market. Industry bodies are also calling for a review of the dollar-based reference price for imports.
The liquidation application has been temporarily withheld to allow urgent talks to continue. SA Canegrowers emphasised that no party wants the business to simply shut its doors.
But with the crushing season approaching, Tau’s intervention may be the last chance to prevent what the industry has called a “death knell” for Tongaat Hulett.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
