The South African Canegrowers Association is questioning a report on job losses in the sector, which suggests the sugar tax has not caused a significant decline in employment.

Job losses in the sugar sector are accurate, says the South African Canegrowers Association in response to a Wits University report shooting down its claims that more than 16,000 people have lost their livelihoods as a direct result of the sugar tax.

The association says independent and industry data supports its assertion that thousands have lost their jobs in the sugar industry since the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) - also known as the sugar tax - was introduced in April 2018 in response to the rising prevalence of obesity in SA and its related comorbidities of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

It also accuses the researchers, from the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science (Priceless SA), of reaching "incorrect and disingenuous" conclusions based on unrepresentative data.

Last week, the association said the tax had crushed the market for sugar, suppressed investment critical for transformation and cost 16,000 jobs.

Two major sugar mills, Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow Sugar, have been forced to undergo business rescue proceedings, but Tongaat Hulett has been experiencing financial difficulty for some time.

Predicated on the Quarterly Labour Force Survey data from Statistics South Africa, the Priceless researchers...