The numbers behind the industry
Zimbabwe is the fifth-largest sugar producer on the African continent, and the Lowveld is recognised globally as one of the most competitive sugar-producing regions, sometimes described as the lowest-cost producer in the SADC region.
Capacity, yield, and energy
The full data set for milling, refining, energy generation, and area under cane.
What the figures tell us
The government's CLAFA-2 crop assessment recorded national sugar cane production growing 1.4% from 6.62 million to 6.71 million tonnes in the 2024/25 season. Of the national crop, the mills crush approximately 3.5 million tonnes of delivered cane in a season, which aligns with the industry's cane-to-sugar ratio of roughly 8:1.
In June 2026, Cabinet approved the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Industry Development Plan 2026 to 2035, which sets new long-term targets including annual sugar production of 500,000 tonnes, ethanol output of 600 million litres, and industry power generation of 200 megawatts by 2035. This succeeds the earlier AFSRTS-2 framework, which had projected cane output climbing to 8.3 million tonnes by 2030. Read more in our Industry News section.
A sugar tax was introduced in 2024 at US$0.0010 per gramme. It was halved in the 2025 National Budget to US$0.0005, offering some relief to beverage manufacturers. Read more about it on the trade and exports page.
The sugar industry is the largest private sector employer in Zimbabwe with over 14,700 employees. Estate yields of around 100 tonnes per hectare are among the best in the world, well above the industry-wide average of 81 tonnes per hectare (which includes outgrowers) and the African continental average of 63. The conditions that make this possible are explored on the sugarcane growing page.
Data summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| National cane crop, CLAFA-2 assessment (2024/25) | 6.71 million tonnes |
| Cane milled per season (approx.) | 3.5 million tonnes |
| Sugar produced (2024/25) | 440,000+ tonnes (final); 232,482 tonnes was a mid-season forecast |
| YoY growth | 4.56% |
| Installed milling capacity | 640,000+ tonnes |
| Cane crushing capacity | 4.8 million tonnes / year |
| Refining capacity | 140,000 tonnes / year |
| Average cane yield | 100 t/ha on estates; 81 t/ha industry-wide (Africa avg: 63) |
| Cane-to-sugar ratio | 8:1 (Hippo Valley) |
| Bagasse cogeneration | Up to 30 MW |
| Annual ethanol output (Triangle) | 30 million litres |
| Total area under cane | approximately 44,500 ha (Tongaat operations); approximately 54,350 ha nationally |
| 2026 season projection | 450,000 tonnes sugar |
| FY2026 results (year ended 31 March 2026) | 443,501 t produced; 471,837 t sold; exports 92,518 t (+114%) |
| Long-term targets (2026-2035 plan) | 500,000 t sugar; 600M L ethanol; 200 MW power |