Parliament exposes monopoly, rot in sugar industry value chain

ZIMBABWE’s sugar industry is choking under a milling monopoly, with farmers accruing huge costs while a single company controls both mills, a damning Parliamentary report has revealed.

The Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce report on the sugar value chain says Zimbabwe has only two sugar mills, Hippo Valley and Triangle both owned by Tongaat Hulett, unlike South Africa and Egypt which have over 14 mills each.

The report, presented after hearings with growers, millers, Delta, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and government ministries, exposes how the monopoly has left out-growers vulnerable.

Out-grower farmers cultivating 44% of the 46,000 hectares under cane rely on contract farming, but pay up to 60% interest because their land tenure is not bankable. They also face steep input costs, with 98% of fertiliser raw materials imported, water charged at US$6.82 per megalitre and power at US$4.75/kWh.

According to the committee findings, transport is another cost driver where cane haulage costs US$44 per 5-tonne bundle, with road charges of US$175 per load after the collapse of rail. Farmers in Mkwasine travel long distances to the mills.

The committee, chaired by former finance deputy minister Clemence Chiduwa also flagged the controversial division of proceeds, now at 80.5% for farmers and 19.5% for millers, which farmers say lacks transparency as millers control weighing.

The report further blasts the US$9-10 per tonne Vitamin A fortification cost and the 2024 sugar tax that Delta said pushed beverage prices up 15-45%, leaving 90,000 tonnes of sugar uncommitted for 2025. Local sugar now sells at US$890-900 per tonne against US$600 import parity.

Parliament has ordered government to amend the 1964 Sugar Act by 31 October 2026, establish a new mill in Mkwasine, recapitalise National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), and set up cheap loans below 15% by December 2026.

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