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Johannesburg – The drought-stricken KwaZulu- Natal province, where more than 80% of the country’s sugar is grown, has six weeks to get sufficient rain for this year’s crop, the region’s agricultural body said.
“Unless it rains significantly more than usual over the next two weeks, we’re talking about cane farmers in the north coast belt and Zululand heading into survival mode,” Mike Black, president of the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union, said by phone on Tuesday.
Illovo Sugar, the second-biggest producer of the sweetener by market value, might close down its Umzimkulu mill as a result of the drought, the Mercury newspaper reported on January 19, citing Dave Howells, managing director for operations.
A spokesperson for Illovo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal has a 30% chance of rainfall for January 20, according to the South African Weather Service’s website. A 60% chance is predicted for Wednesday and January 22.
“Even if the rain comes now, unfortunately for an optimal sugar crop, I think it would be a bit late,” Andrew Layman, chief executive officer of Durban’s Chamber of Commerce, said by mobile phone. “Basically, sugar farmers are expecting a poor crop because of the drought.”
The Sugar Association trimmed its forecast for production this season to 2.11 million metric tons from the December prediction of 2.12 million tons, it said today on its website.
The sugarcane-output estimate was cut to 17.7 million tons from 18.1 million tons last month.
South Africa is the continent’s biggest sugarcane producer, with the crop being its largest by quantity, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation. - Bloomberg
