Illovo 'not badly affected by floods'

Image source: Bloomberg

Illovo MD Gavin Dalgleish said on Friday while several cane fields were flooded‚ the potential for lost supply was negligible.

This was partly because younger cane‚ which are less able to withstand being under water for long periods‚ were generally not affected.

Illovo's Malawian unit each year allows a few hundred people who live on nearby floodplains to take refuge on its agricultural estate during the rainy season‚ Mr Dalgleish said.

"We've got a fairly well grooved response to it."

However‚ the company is providing temporary housing and sanitation for about 3‚000 people this year amid severe floods‚ which have resulted in more than 250 deaths and an estimated 200‚000 people displaced.

The floods have also taken their toll on the northern parts of neighbouring Mozambique‚ though Illovo and competitor Tongaat Hulett say their operations in the country are unaffected.

But in their home market in KwaZulu-Natal an ongoing drought means sugarcane yields will be dented this season.

Illovo‚ which focuses on Durban's south coast‚ will keep one of its mills shut this season.

North coast-focused Tongaat would open one of its mills later than usual‚ it confirmed on Friday.

Mr Dalgleish said the droughts had been likened to the severe droughts of the early 1990s.

"We've shut the Umzimkulu mill for the season‚ and we're diverting cane between our three mills - Sezela‚ Eston and Noodsberg‚" he said.

Tongaat said that the start-up date for its Darnall mill‚ most affected by the poor rainfall‚ would be delayed from April to July or August.

"This will provide the sugarcane with additional time for growth and optimisation of milling capacity. Employees from the mill are temporarily being assigned to other mills until normal operations resume."