Source: Farmers, Tongaat Hulett in new cane price row – herald
Check Point Desk
THE sugar industry is on the edge after Lowveld sugarcane outgrowers formally appealed for Government intervention, accusing milling giant Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe of imposing unsustainable prices and suspending deliveries in a dispute that now threatens the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and workers.
At the centre of the dispute is a sharply reduced provisional cane purchase price of US$61,83 per tonne for the 2026 season, down from US$71 last season, despite surging production costs driven by rising fuel, fertiliser and labour expenses.
The latest escalation is contained in a letter dated May 13, 2026, written by Lowveld farmer representative Mr Admore Hwarare to the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Dr Anxious Masuka, requesting Government to rescue what growers describe as a rapidly deteriorating situation.
Mr Hwarare, representing sugarcane outgrower farmers in Hippo Valley, Triangle and Mkwasine, warned that the pricing dispute and suspension of cane deliveries threatened to reverse years of economic gains in the Lowveld and undermine Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 ambitions.
“Sugarcane as a strategic crop for the country is under threat from economic saboteurs within the crop production value chain,” Hwarare wrote.
In the letter, Hwarare said farmers had not previously sought Government intervention on sugarcane pricing, despite years of operating without a gazetted producer price.
However, he argued that the latest reduction ignored harsh realities on the ground where production costs had escalated.
According to the correspondence, the cost of a 50kg bag of urea fertiliser has risen from US$31 to US$45, while diesel prices increased from US$1,14 per litre to US$2,07 per litre amid global market instability linked to unrest in the Middle East.
Mr Hwarare accused the miller of reducing cane prices precisely when growers were facing mounting operational costs.
“Such decisions risk pushing farmers who are a major economic player out of business completely and reversing the economic gains realised by the Second Republic,” the letter reads.
The dispute has exposed longstanding tensions within Zimbabwe’s sugar industry, where Tongaat Hulett remains the dominant processor controlling milling infrastructure, cane procurement and much of the pricing framework underpinning the sector.
Beyond the pricing row, farmers are also protesting against what they describe as a unilateral suspension of sugarcane deliveries by the miller under the Cane Purchase Agreement (CPA) system.
Mr Hwarare said the suspension violated existing agreements and industry operational practices because farmers were not consulted before deliveries were halted.
“The millers have an obligation to receive cane from growers from the beginning of the season to the end, regardless of the state of the agreement,” Mr Hwarare wrote.
The standoff carries potentially severe consequences for growers because harvested cane rapidly deteriorates if not milled in time, losing both weight and sucrose content.
Mr Hwarare warned that standing cane across Triangle, Hippo Valley and Mkwasine was already over-maturing, placing farmers at risk of significant financial losses after heavy investments in fertiliser, labour and irrigation.
He further warned that prolonged delivery suspensions threatened hundreds of small-scale and A2 farmers, seasonal workers and entire communities dependent on the sugar economy in Masvingo Province.
“The sugar industry underpins the Lowveld economy,” Hwarare stated.
The latest tensions escalated after Tongaat Hulett Commercial Director Sylvester Mangani wrote to Zimbabwe Sugar Association chairman Dr T.R. Choruma-Dozwa on May 11, 2026, proposing a temporary arrangement while pricing negotiations continue.
In the letter, Mangani said the company would buy cane from CPA farmers at a provisional price of US$61,83 per tonne between May 12 and June 12 pending final determination by the Minister of Industry and Commerce.
Mangani said any future Government-approved adjustment would be backdated and farmers compensated for the difference.
“For this period the miller will pay the difference between the determined price and the provisional price,” Mangani wrote.
However, the temporary arrangement has done little to calm tensions in the Lowveld, where growers argue they are negotiating from a position of weakness because they have no viable alternative buyer. Agricultural economist Brian Mudondo said the standoff reflected deeper structural weaknesses within Zimbabwe’s sugar industry. “When one processor controls the mills, export channels and pricing mechanisms, growers inevitably carry most of the production risks while having limited leverage over the final price,” Mudondo said.
For farmers across Hippo Valley, Triangle and Mkwasine, the stakes are becoming increasingly urgent.
With negotiations still unresolved and cane continuing to lose value in the fields under the scorching Lowveld heat, growers fear the latest dispute could deepen into one of the most serious sugar industry crises Zimbabwe has faced in years.
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