Sugar mills diversifying to biofuel because of sugar tax, low prices

In South Africa, the Gledhow sugar mill used to produce just sugarcane products like refined sugar, but is diversifying into biofuel now that the South African government has been more supportive of biofuel from sugarcane. Since the government’s new sugar tax a year ago, there has been a surplus of sugarcane in South Africa that has recently been exported to the world market, but now sugar mills are moving into ethanol as a way to handle the sugarcane surplus while avoiding the sugar tax. And as sugar prices drop globally, sugar mills in South Africa are working with the government to help change their factories and processes for alternative sugarcane products and markets, like biofuels.