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SUCROSE LEVY UP 13% PER TONNE

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MBABANE – The levy on each tonne of sucrose supplied to and accepted by a miller will now be E7.67.

Sucrose is common sugar. Sucrose is extracted and refined from sugarcane. In exercise of powers conferred by Section 4 of the Cane Growers Act, 1967; Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza on the recommendation of the Eswatini Cane Growers Association issued the notice of the new levy. It is effective April 1, 2021.  This is as per Legal Notice No.323 of 2020 which was published on the Eswatini Government Gazette.

increment

The levy is currently at E6.61 per tonne. This means there will be an increment of about 13.8 per cent, come April 1.

“The due date of the levy in respect of each delivery of sucrose during any mill-month shall be the 10th after the last day of such mill-month.

“In the absence of satisfactory proof to the contrary the miller shall be deemed to have accepted sucrose on the date of delivery of such sucrose to him,” reads the notice in part.

For the purpose of the notice, the expression ‘mill-month’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Schedule to the Sugar Act, 1967.

Millers shall deduct the amount of the levy imposed on each cane grower from the periodic payments made to such grower for sucrose supplied by him/her and shall remit the amounts of such levy to the Eswatini Cane Growers Association by the due date.

Eswatini Cane Growers Association Sipho Nkambule also confirmed the review of the levy.

Meanwhile, there are three sugar mills in Eswatini owned by Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation Ltd (Mhlume and Simunye Mills) and Ubombo Sugar Limited (Ubombo Mill). Illovo Sugar Ltd owns Ubombo Sugar Limited. These mills are members of the Eswatini Millers Association. 

comprises

The cane growing sector, on the other hand, comprises over 100 registered sugar cane growers farming predominantly in the Lowveld, and some farming operations around Malkerns and surrounding areas. The number of smallholder growers, mostly on Eswatini Nation Land is said to have grown considerably in recent years – particularly since the 1990s.

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