Voluntary Report – Voluntary - Public Distribution Date: April 29, 2021

Report Number: SF2021-0027

Report Name: South African Small Maple Market may Present Niche Prospects for United States Suppliers

Country: South Africa - Republic of

Post: Pretoria

Report Category: , Retail Foods, MISC-Commodity

Prepared By: Wellington Sikuka

Approved By: Kyle Bonsu

Report Highlights:

There are no known for sugar maple trees and production in South Africa. While the market is relatively small compared to the United States, it may present niche prospects for U.S. maple exports. South Africa has been a net importer of maple syrup since 2015, and imports in 2020 were valued at US$647,729 (109 Metric Tons (MT)). Year-to-date imports up to March 2021 have already increased fivefold in comparison to the same period in 2020. Canada was the leading supplier of maple syrup and accounted for 74 percent of the total imports in 2020. Imports from the United States have declined from a peak of 49 MT in 2011, to less than 1 MT in 2020. Notably, real maple syrup is considered expensive in the South African local market, and there are several alternatives which are at least 8 times cheaper.

THIS REPORT CONTAINS ASSESSMENTS OF COMMODITY AND TRADE ISSUES MADE BY USDA STAFF AND NOT NECESSARILY STATEMENTS OF OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY

1US$ = R14.23 as at April 16, 2021

Production

Real maple syrup is produced from sugar maple trees. There are no known plantations for sugar maple trees and maple syrup production in South Africa. As a result, South Africa may present prospects for U.S. maple exports.

United States Maple Syrup Exports Have Significantly Declined

South Africa has been a net importer of maple syrup since 2015 as shown in Table 1. Imports in 2020 were 109 Metric Tons (MT) and valued at about US$647,729. Year-to-date imports up to March 2021 have already increased fivefold in comparison to the same period in 2020. South Africa does not produce any real maple syrup and the exports reported in Table 1 may be due to incorrect declaration at the ports or re-exports or re-packaged maple syrup or other products that have undergone further processing using maple syrup.

Table 1: South African Maple Syrup Imports and Exports 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Imports (MT) 60 108 58 50 111 82 142 99 93 3,330 109 Exports (MT) 67 648 1,955 313 125 41 109 44 82 87 72 Net Trade (MT) 7 540 1,897 263 14 -41 -33 -55 -11 -3,243 -37 Source: Trade Data Monitor

Canada is the leading supplier of maple syrup into South Africa and accounted for 74 percent of the total South African imports in 2020, followed by the United Kingdom (14 percent) and Denmark (6 percent). Imports from the United States have declined from a peak of 49 MT in 2011, to less than 1 MT in 2020. The reasons for the decline may be due to the insufficient supply in the United States, and competition from Canada. Notably, the United States is also a net importer of maple syrup and imported at least 99 percent from Canada in 2020. Table 2 shows detailed market shares of the various suppliers of maple syrup to South Africa.

Table 2: South African and Maple Syrup Imports South Africa Imports from the World Commodity: 170220, Maple Sugar And Maple Syrup Annual Partner Unit 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 World T 60 108 58 50 111 82 142 99 93 3,330 109 Canada T 33 3 2 1 22 22 57 53 63 58 81 Denmark T 4 1 1 1 1 0 4 5 3 3 6 United Kingdom T 0 5 1 0 0 3 11 17 18 23 15 United States T 8 49 24 25 44 20 2 0 1 0 0 China T 0 1 0 0 0 3 40 18 0 0 0 United Arab Emirates T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 135 0 Botswana T 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

THIS REPORT CONTAINS ASSESSMENTS OF COMMODITY AND TRADE ISSUES MADE BY USDA STAFF AND NOT NECESSARILY STATEMENTS OF OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY

Brazil T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,107 0 Egypt T 7 23 13 20 26 25 17 1 0 0 0 Germany T 3 8 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 Greece T 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hong Kong T 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Malaysia T 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 0 0 0 0 Mexico T 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 3 1 0 Namibia T 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Netherlands T 0 16 16 0 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 Eswatini T 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 7 Taiwan T 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Thailand T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Source: Trade Data Monitor

Domestic Market for Real Maple Syrup

Real maple syrup is considered expensive in the South African local market, and ranges from R135 (US$9.50) to R149.99 (US$12) per 250 ml as shown in Table 3. As a result, there are several cheaper alternatives which are priced at least 8 times cheaper from R29.99 (US$2.11) to R39.99 (US$2.81) per 500 ml such as Maple Flavoured Syrup, Traditional Syrup, and Golden as shown in Table 4. These alternatives are usually made from cane sugar, while other imported alternatives are made from .

Table 3: Domestic Price of Real Maple Syrup Product Price & Size Origin Price - R138.99 (US$9.77) Canada

Size - 250 ml

Description – 100% maple syrup

Price - R 149.99 (US$10.54) Canada

Size - 250 ml

Description – 100% organic maple syrup

Source: Woolworths Foods

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Table 4: Domestic Prices of Maple Syrup Alternatives Product Price & Size Origin Price – R39.99 (US$2.81) South Africa

Size - 500 ml

Description – Maple Flavoured Syrup

Price – R29.99 (US$2.11) South Africa

Size - 500 ml

Description – Maple Flavoured Syrup

Price – R29.99 (US$2.11) South Africa

Size - 500 g

Description – Golden Syrup

Price – R29.99 (US$2.11) South Africa

Size - 500 g

Description – Traditional Syrup

Sources: Pick n Pay Retail Supermarket & Woolworths Food

Import Duties

There are no customs duties applicable to maple syrup imports in South Africa as shown in Table 5. United States maple syrup exports are also not subject to any customs duties.

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Table 5: Customs Duties Applicable to Maple Syrup Imports in South Africa Article Statistical Rate of Duty Heading Description Unit General EU EFTA SADC MERCOSUR AfCFTA Maple sugar and maple 170220 syrup kg free free free free free free Source: South African Revenue Services (SARS)

Impact of the Health Promotion Levy (Sugar Tax)

On December 15, 2017, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) announced that it will start to collect tax from domestic and imported sugar sweetened beverages from April 1, 2018. The tax became effective in April 2018 and was initially set at 2.1 cents per gram of sugar content that exceeds 4 grams per 100ml, which means that the first 4 grams per 100ml are levy free. The tax was later increased to 2.21 cents in 2019. According to a Policy Paper and Proposal on Taxation of Sugar Sweetened Beverages published by the South African National Treasury in 2016, sugar sweetened beverages are beverages that contain added caloric sweeteners such as , high- corn syrup (HFCS), or fruit-juice concentrates, which include but are not limited to soft drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy and vitamin water drinks, sweetened iced tea, and lemonade, among others. Thus, any beverage that only contains sugar naturally built into the structure of the ingredients will not be liable for the sugar tax (examples of this include unsweetened milk and milk products and 100 percent fruit juice). As a result, the sugar tax is not applicable to real maple syrup. However, the sugar tax applies to Maple Flavored Syrups, which contain additional such as corn syrup and cane sugars.

The tax on sugar sweetened beverages has had a severe impact on the beverage sector, sugar sector, and importers. The beverage manufacturing sector has undertaken several measures to either avoid or minimize the impact of the sugar tax by introducing “low” or zero sugar products, reducing packaging sizes, and reformulating their products by using sweeteners to reduce sugar content. This has resulted in the reduction in sugar usage by the beverage sector in 2018 by at least 30 percent (200,000 MT), in 2019 sugar usage reduced by 250,000 MT and 300,000 MT. Reformulation seems to have stabilized in 2020 and 2021. The decrease in domestic sugar demand has consequently resulted in the increase in South African sugar exports at a lower price. As a result, the revenue dropped by up to R1.8 billion (US$106 million). This had serious implications on the economic viability for sugar cane farmers, with some farms unable to survive. Similarly, sugar milling companies were also under profitability strains due to this revenue loss. Additional information on the impact of the sugar tax may be obtained from the following GAIN report published in March 2019, South African Sugar Industry Crushed by Not So Sweet Tax.

Importers of sugar sweetened beverages were also impacted by the sugar tax, based on the additional taxes they had to pay and additional paperwork to prove the exact amounts of sugar in their products.

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Other Related Reports Report Name Link The United States and Southern Africa Agricultural Trade Decreases Due to COVID- Download 19 Insufficient Food Ingredients Production in South Africa Presents Diverse Download Opportunities for US Exporters Exporter Guide Download Sugar Semi-annual Download Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Country Report Download Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Export Certificate Report Download South African Sugar Industry Crushed by Not So Sweet Tax Download South Africa to implement the tax on sweetened beverages in 2018 Download

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