South Africa: South African Sugar Industry Welcomes Report on the Economic Impact of the Health Promotion Levy

The South African sugar industry has always publicly lamented the negative impact of the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) that was introduced in 2018 to the already distressed sector. In June 2021, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) published a report titled, ‘Economic Impact of the Health Promotion Levy on the Sugar Market Industry’. The NEDLAC report confirms and quantifies the exact impact of the HPL up to the 2019/20 Marketing Year (MY). The sugar industry has welcomed the NEDLAC Report and suggest that it may assist in engagements with government during the implementation of the Sugar Industry Master Plan whose objective is to address the decline of the South African sugar industry.