The short version: Sugarcane growers form entity to save Tongaat Hulett and their livelihoods

As Tongaat Hulett’s liquidation hearing date draws closer, a group of small- and large-scale sugarcane growers have come together to establish a new entity known as GrowerCo, which will seek to secure funding to keep Tongaat’s mills and refinery open, while positioning themselves not only as suppliers but equity partners. The initiative is being backed by both SA Canegrowers and the South African Farmers’ Development Association (SAFDA) as an alternative to private-equity-led proposals which thus far have failed to save the business, and as a result, the livelihoods of tens of thousands of cane growers. “[GrowerCo] has been designed by the people who supply the cane, operate the mills, and depend on the industry, and is built around patient capital and a model of reinvestment,” explains Pratish Sharma, a grower who supplies Tongaat Hulett’s Maidstone Mill. The establishment of the group shows the determination of farmers to come together to not only save jobs, communities and the industry overall, but also represents an opportunity for transformation of small-scale growers who would be included at an ownership level. “This initiative demonstrates the resilience, determination and long-term vision of South African sugarcane growers,” said Dr Thomas Funke, CEO of SA Canegrowers. Agricultural economists and industry experts have also welcomed the formation of the group, since Tongaat Hulett’s survival is critical to the stability of the overall agricultural value chain

We kick off with financial results from Oceana, for its half-year to end March. Despite a -6% drop in revenue to R4.9bn, the Group saw HEPS grow +7.7%. Lucky Star and its Wild Caught Seafood segment put in strong performances, thanks to stable volumes and better margins in the former and higher hake catch rates in the latter. These good performances were therefore able to offset weaker global prices in the fishmeal and fish oil markets. Despite these and some other challenges, Oceana’s outlook is generally positive, although recent increases in fuel prices will not go unnoticed in a business that requires a lot of juice to keep its fishing boats running.

Next, Tiger Brands has signed a renewable energy wheeling agreement to accelerate its green energy transition. For those, who like us, aren’t too familiar with how wheeling works, in very simple terms, it is where a business places a solar energy ‘farm’ far away from its premises, feeds that energy into the grid and then takes the same amount of energy out of the grid at its place of business. The deal has been signed with Apollo Africa and Tiger Brands sites supplied through the Ekurhuleni Municipality are expected to receive around 60% of their electricity requirements through the wheeled renewable power by 2028.

And finally, as mentioned in our intro, our continent celebrated Africa Day earlier this week. Another day that you might not have known existed, is the International Day of the Potato, which is held every year on 30 May. The day was officially designated by the UN to raise awareness about the crop’s nutritional benefits, economic importance, and role it plays in global food security. In honour of the occasion, McCain Foods’ released its inaugural Spud Report, which surveyed more than 12,000 people across 11 countries and uncovers how people around the world eat, share and enjoy their spuds. While McCain makes a variety of frozen potato products, fries represent the foundation of its empire, so it goes without saying that they would focus on just how wonderful everyone thinks they are. For example, 78% of those surveyed said that fries improve their mood (Agree. Ed.), and one-third believe that sharing fries is more intimate than holding hands (Debatable. Ed.). Helping yourself to fries from someone else’s plate is hugely frowned upon (Most certainly. Ed.), with 56% of parents admitting that they steal fries from the plates of their very own children (No idea what you’re talking about. Ed.). We could carry on here, not only because we also love fries, but because the report makes for some fascinating reading. You can go have a look for yourselves over here.