Tongaat Hulett’s business practitioners give assurance to sugar cane farmers regarding payments

Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners have given sugar cane farmers the assurance that they will be paid the more than R400 million owed to them before November 11th.

Payment is overdue for 600 000 tons of sugar cane delivered to mills in KwaZulu-Natal last month.

The assurance comes after South African Canegrowers expressed concern that non-payment would affect about 4 300 growers and their more than 14 000 workers.

More than 4 000 of the growers are small-scale cane growers. According to SA Canegrowers, an estimated R345 million will be due at the end of this month for cane delivered to mills last month.

The South African Farmers Development Association Chairperson, Siyabonga Madlala, says the business rescue practitioners told them in a meeting earlier on Tuesday that the payments would be made.

He says they also said that Tongaat Hulett’s lenders approved payments for sugar cane that is being harvested.

“We have been given comfort that the lenders have since approved that they will be funding the payments to farmers and they are also awaiting a bigger plan for the actual turnaround of the mill, as we have heard that the company, Tongaat Hulett has filed voluntary to be under business rescue.”

Affected farms

Madlala says the affected sugar cane plantations stretch from oThongathi north of Durban, along the North Coast to Zululand, and as far north as Jozini and the Makhathini Flats.

“But I must also give comfort that they are getting some positive feedback towards funding the actual funding the operations of the mill taking us forward in terms of finishing the season. Also, they are still to prepare a longer-term business rescue strategy which will talk to the longer-term turnaround of Tongaat Hulett.”