HARARE — The Zimbabwean government has set the purchase price of sugarcane supplied by private growers to millers at US$72.40 per tonne under new regulations governing the sugar industry.

The price is prescribed in Statutory Instrument 174 of 2026, published in the Government Gazette dated October 30.

The regulations, issued by the Minister of Industry and Commerce after consultations with the ministers responsible for agriculture and the Zimbabwe Sugar Association, establish a mandatory purchase price for cane supplied by private farmers.

Under the regulations, the US$72.40 price applies notwithstanding the terms of existing cane purchase agreements between growers and millers.

The government has also introduced payment requirements, directing millers to pay growers by the eighth day of the month following delivery unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

The regulations provide penalties for non-compliance, including fines or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.

Company directors, managers and principal officers who knowingly participate in breaches of the regulations may also be held personally liable.

The new pricing framework directly affects private sugarcane growers supplying Zimbabwe’s milling industry, particularly those operating in the Lowveld.

The Gazette does not indicate how the prescribed price compares with previous commercial arrangements or explain the formula used to determine the US$72.40 rate.

The regulations were made under the Sugar Production Control Act.