Zimbabwe Sugarcane Output Up 3rd Year In A Row

Zimbabwe sugar output to reach 500 000 metric tonnes this year, surpassing 2018’s 460 000 tonnes.

The Commercial Sugar Producers Association (CSPA) said members had initially projected to increase production from 95 tonnes per hectare to 97 tonnes but had since reviewed the figure upwards to over 100 tonnes.

Sugar milling company Tongaat Hulett has projected a productivity increase of from 15 tonnes per hectare to 120 tonnes per hectare.

The developments are partly attributed to increased irrigation capacity from full dams, despite the rest of Zimbabwean agriculture suffering from the effects of a crippling 2018/19 drought.

Sugar is second to tobacco in Zimbabwe’s foreign currency earnings from agriculture.

Tongaat Hulett, the South African firm, produces about 80 percent of the total sugar production while 20 percent is produced by private farmers. It produces from its plantations in Hippo Valley and Triangle.

At least 65 percent of the produced sugar is for domestic use while the rest is for export.

Before the land reforms of the year 2000, sugar cane production was a sole preserve for Tongaat Hulett.

CAJ News