Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe said on Friday it is expecting an increase of 7 per cent in sugar output for the financial year ending March 2025 from record lows last year, reported Reuters.
According to the chief executive, Tendai Masawi, the businesses have continued almost unhindered in Zimbabwe despite problems at their South Africa-based parent company, Tongaat Hulett. Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe includes the wholly-owned Triangle Sugar Estates and the 50.3 per cent-owned Hippo Valley Estates.
Tongaat Hulett’s South African operations have been under business rescue since October 2022. Masawi said Tongaat’s Zimbabwe operations had battled their demons in production, with the El Niño weather, currency volatility, and inflation; a shortage of critical spares required for its mills resulted in unscheduled stoppages.
“Last year, we produced 375,000 tons from the two mills, one of our lowest production figures. This year, we will target near 395,000-400,000 tons,” Masawi told Reuters. Industry data showed sugar output at 396,682 metric tons in the year to March 2023.
The two mills at Tongaat Hulett have a combined capacity for sugar production of approximately 640,000 tons. “We are on target, and our mills are running well. I am very confident that we will achieve the tonnage we set,” he added.
Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe has established a network of more than 1,200 farmers it supplies with fertilisers and herbicides besides technical assistance to supplement its sugar cane plantations.
