CALLS TO ESTABLISH SUGAR INDUSTRIAL PARK

EZULWINI – Government has challenged the Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA) to establish a sugar industrial park where full beneficiation of sugar and its byproducts will be produced.

The challenge to the sugar association and the entire industry was given by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo during the opening session of the 62nd International Sugar Organisation (ISO) Council Session yesterday at the Royal Villas Hotel in Ezulwini. The 62nd ISO Council Session is held here in Eswatini, bringing together all the members from the 92 countries. It began yesterday and shall end on Friday. Upon arrival on Monday, delegates from outside the country an opportunity to tour selected areas of the Eswatini sugar industry. This year’s session is themed: resilient sugar industries in the midst of climate change and emerging geopolitics.  The session is also attended by the Minister of Multi-Ethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry of Fiji, Charan Jeath Singh and many other captains of the sugar industry internationally.

In his remarks, Minister Khumalo challenged sugar industries in developing economies like Eswatini, to seriously consider diversification and value addition in their strategies to ensure viability in the long-term. He said the focus on the primary product, which is sugar, has proven to be unsustainable in the long-term. “Indeed, more can be produced from the stalk of cane, by creating various by-products from the different stages of the production processes,” said the minister. Khumalo said the significant contribution of sugar industries in supporting growth and development in various countries was not unnoticed. He said here in Eswatini, the sugar industry – since its inception over five decades ago – has been making tremendous positive impacts across various sectors of the economy.

He highlighted that in 2021, the sugar industry accounted for approximately five per cent of national gross domestic product (GDP), with the cane growing and sugar milling activities contributing substantially to the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, respectively. He said in the same year, sugar and sugar related products, accounted for 22 per cent of Eswatini’s export earnings. Also worth noting was that the sugar industry was the largest non-government employer in the country. Khumalo said the multiplier effect of the various activities of the industry, and communities where the different industry segments operate, was huge. He said the industry provided much needed social services in the areas where it is based, including healthcare and education facilities, housing, electricity, water, sanitation and recreational facilities.

The minister added that it was for that reason that the Government of Eswatini considered the sugar industry as a strategic partner towards addressing pertinent national challenges such as unemployment, food insecurity, water scarcity and rural poverty. He also mentioned that in the rural areas where the sugar industry had presence, the lives of many emaSwati had been improved. “As I speak, the sugar industry, through support from government and our development partners, is extending its foothold towards one of the driest areas in the south of the country, where support is being given to the conversion of subsistence farming to commercial agriculture through downstream sugar cane development projects flowing from two dam projects,” said Khumalo.  

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