SA sugar association warns that 30% US tariff will threaten local industry and jobs
Image: Simphiwe Mbokazi/Independent Newspapers
The South African Cane Growers Association has expressed concern over the looming 30% tariff on sugar exports to the United States, warning that the move could undermine the competitiveness of South African sugar.
Starting on August 1, 2025, all South African exports will face a 30% tariff after US President Donald Trump sent a formal letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week, alerting him of the new terms..
This comes despite Ramaphosa's efforts to maintain and strengthen bilateral trade relations between South Africa and the US, including recent discussions in the White House earlier this year aimed at resolving trade disputes.
The association said the tariff could make South African sugar 'uncompetitive in the US,' while the industry also faces a surge of cheap, subsidised sugar imports from countries like Brazil, India, and Mexico flooding local ports.
"It is important to stress that the South African sugar industry poses no threat to the US market, which relies on sugar from outside the US to meet local demand". Sinyanya said.
"The US has, up until recently, had a quota system in place to ensure that the US retains full control over both the volume and price of imported sugar. The 30% tariff will make South African sugar less competitive in the US market when compared to heavily subsidised competitors like Brazil, India and Mexico".
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The association also warned that this 'double blow' threatens the industry, which supports around one million jobs across the value chain.
"South African sugarcane growers cannot compete with these unfairly subsidised imports arriving every day at our ports, particularly as the industry contends.
"With a range of other pressures including erratic weather patterns, mill closures, the Health Promotion Levy (sugar tax) and the 30% tariffs that will reduce revenue from the US. For every ton of imported sugar that enters the local market, the industry loses R6000".
Meanwhile, the Citrus Growers' Association (CGA) has also previously cautioned that the imposition of US tariffs could result in the loss of more than 35,000 jobs.
'The 30% tariff would wreak havoc on entire communities,' Boitshoko Ntshabele, CEO of the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa, said, according to African Farming.
In an interview with the public broadcaster on Wednesday, Ntshabele also revealed ongoing challenges accessing the European Union market due to what the industry calls unjustified trade barriers.
'One of the pressure points we face as an industry has been access to our biggest market, which is the European Union. We face a lot of pressure in terms of what we consider unscientific and unjustified trade barriers with regard to CBS and FCM control. This matter is a subject of dispute between South Africa and the EU at the WTO.'
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