South Africa: R401m of payments to cane growers at risk as Tongaat Hulett goes into business rescue

Sugarcane business organisation SA Canegrowers says the immediate risk arising from sugar company Tongaat Hulett's entry into business rescue is that R401-million that was due to be paid to growers at the end of October will likely not be transferred on time, as Tongaat has lost access to its bank accounts. This will have dire financial consequences for growers, as well as the farm workers they support. This situation could plunge thousands of growers and workers into destitution and raises the risk of unrest in KwaZulu-Natal’s rural cane growing communities, says SA Canegrowers chairperson Andrew Russell. Payments to supplying growers are made in the month following delivery. The payments due at the end of this month are for sugarcane delivered in September. For a number of small-scale growers, September marked their first deliveries of the season, and any default on these payments will have devastating impacts on their livelihoods, as well as the communities they support. "SA ...