The country's sugar industry says a new report on the socio-economic impact of the so-called sugar tax, has highlighted the devastating impact it had on the industry.
The report was commissioned by the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, at the request of a Parliamentary Committee.
The SA Canegrowers Association says the report showed that by 2019, the sugar tax had resulted in over 16 000 total job losses in the overall economy a R653 million decline in investment into the economy and a R1.19 billion decline in the contribution to GDP.
The chairperson of the Sugarcane Growers Association, Rex Talmage says this report comes on the back of millions of job losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with reports on Tuesday showing the unemployment rate up to 32.6%.
He says neither the sugar industry nor the countries unemployed can afford a continuation of the tax.
"This report, therefore, presents a critical moment for Government to reflect on the impact of the tax and make the right call. The only choice we have is to scrap the sugar tax".
