The South African sugar industry

Abstract

The sugar industry was established in Natal in the mid-nineteenth century. By the 1980s, South Africa produced c. 2 million metric tons of sugar per annum and, directly or indirectly, the industry supported almost one million people. Exports, which amounted for almost half the sugar produced in the 1970s, declined during the 1980s and low prices together with American and Canadian sanctions have forced the industry to consider alternative uses for sugar cane.