Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe Targets Sugar Output Surge

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe plans to boost sugar production by 7% by March 2025, overcoming previous challenges like bad weather and inflation. CEO Tendai Masawi remains confident despite problems in South Africa. Their operations involve two mills and partnerships with 1,200 farmers to enhance production capacity.

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe said on Friday it expects to increase sugar output by 7% during the financial year to March 2025 after record lows last year.

The Zimbabwean businesses have been largely unaffected by problems at their South Africa-based parent company, Tongaat Hullet Zimbabwe CEO Tendai Masawi said in an interview. Tongaat's Zimbabwe units are made up of the wholly owned Triangle Sugar Estates and the 50.3% owned Hippo Valley Estates , which operate the country's two sugar mills.

Tongaat Hulett's South African operations entered business rescue proceedings in October 2022. Masawi said Tongaat's Zimbabwean operations were recovering from production challenges of their own, which included bad weather, currency volatility, inflation and a lack of critical spares for its mills, resulting in unscheduled stoppages.

"Last year we did 375,000 tons, from the two mills, one of our lowest production. This year we're looking at close to 395,000-400,000 tons of production," Masawi told Reuters. Sugar production was 396,682 metric tons in the year ended March 2023, industry data shows.

The two Tongaat Hulett mills have a combined sugar production capacity of about 640,000 tons. "We're on target, our mills are running well. I'm confident that we'll be able to meet the tonnage that we have set," he added.

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe works with a network of 1,200 farmers, providing fertilizers, herbicides and technical assistance to complement its own sugar cane production.

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