The beverage industry, sugar farmers and health activists are anxiously awaiting clarity on the sugary drinks tax, expected in tomorrow’s Budget speech.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to announce the level of tax, and whether 100% fruit juice will be included.
In a policy paper published last year, the National Treasury proposed a tax of 2.29 cents per gram of sugar.
Although pure fruit juice was excluded from the tax in the policy paper, Treasury deputy director-general Ismail Momoniat has since said it should be included.
The Treasury’s Mpho Legote said Gordhan’s decision would “take into account all 144 submissions” they had received on the tax.
“It is important to change the environment to encourage the consumption of healthier products. If the price level of sugary beverages is still cheap enough to undermine healthy options, then this is a problem,” said Legote.
He chastised industry stakeholders who “have not helped us to find the balance between job losses and the impact (of sugary drinks) on health. Industry wants to protect its purse and profit, and that is not fair.”
The Department of Health’s Lynn Moeng described the sugar tax as “one part of a multipronged approach to combat obesity”.
She said the Beverage Industry of South Africa (BevSA) had warned of job losses, but “they have not factored in the increase in sales of healthier products. For example, when Woolworths removed sweets from its aisles, it saw an increase in the sales of healthier products.
“Industry should use the energy it is putting into opposing the tax into marketing healthy products,” said Moeng.
The sales of sugary drinks in South Africa grew by more than 65% between 2001 and 2015. There are so many being sold that the volume is equal to every South African drinking 262ml of sugary drink per day.
Between 1998 and 2012, obesity grew from 30% to almost 40% in women, and from 7.5% to 10.6% in men.
BevSA and the Consumer Goods Council SA have spoken against the tax, with BevSA-commissioned research claiming the tax could result in up to 71 000 job losses.
The two powerful bodies would prefer voluntary “reformulation” of products to reduce sugar content.
Those opposed to the tax also want more research into the total dietary intake of South Africans.
BevSA has already used the tax to start trimming its staff, according to the Food and Allied Workers Union.
However, Mexico, which introduced a sugary-drinks tax in 2013, did not experience job losses.
Economic modelling by Wits University predicts the tax will result in 220 000 fewer obese South Africans and bring in up to R7 billion in revenue that can be used to fund health initiatives. – Health-e News