SA Canegrowers welcomes no increase in sugar tax
|Published
Durban - South African Canegrowers welcomed the decision to maintain the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), commonly referred to as the sugar tax, at its current rate.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered his 2021 Budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday. In his speech he said there would be an 8 percent increase in the excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products. No mention was made about the HPL on sugary beverages. The HPL is in support of the Department of Health’s deliverables to decrease diabetes, obesity and other related diseases in South Africa.
SA Canegrowers spokesperson Kabelo Kgobisa said although they had called for a reduction in the sugar tax, Mboweni’s budget added “no additional obstacles to the sticky path ahead for the industry’s recovery and the one million livelihoods that depend on the industry”.
What is critical now, said Kgobisa, is that the other commitments made in the Sugar Industry Masterplan are implemented as soon as possible.
“The SA Canegrowers has consistently called for the completion of a socio-economic impact assessment study on the impact of the sugar tax. This will enable the government and industry to analyse the need and efficacy of any tax or supposed health promotion levy from a factual basis,” Kgobisa said.
A draft report has been commissioned, said Kgobisa, and it was essential that this report be finalised without further delay.
“A survey conducted in the first year of the sugar tax found that the sugar industry had lost in excess of 9 000 jobs in the cane growing sector alone. A comprehensive report should also include the impact on other affected industries including the sugar-sweetened beverage industry which have suffered similar devastating job losses.”
According to Kgobisa, the collective priority right now should be the preservation of the 65 000 direct jobs that the local sugar industry supported the survival and growth of the 21 581 small-scale growers in the industry who created economic opportunities in deep rural areas where they were most needed.
“All South Africans were encouraged by President Ramaphosa to buy local sugar during his state of the nation address. This call has come at a critical time for our industry and economic recovery,” he said.
Kgobisa said SA Canegrowers have put all efforts towards their home sweet home campaign to make it easy for consumers to buy local and support local growers.
The Daily News