The jury is out on the impact of
government’s proposed 20% sugar
tax on SA’s soft drinks industry with
divergent arguments for and against
depending on which side of the fence
you’re sitting on.
According to the Beverage
Association of SA (BevSA), representing
the non-alcoholic beverages industry,
previous attempts by other nations
to use it as a means of reducing
sugar consumption and the
resultant national obesity
trends have failed miserably,
It also warned that the
proposed sugar tax on
sweetened beverages would
cost the local economy R14
billion, could trigger between 62
000 to 72 000 job losses and could
push the country into recession.
It expressed extreme disappointment
at what it termed “a discriminatory tax
on sugar-sweetened beverages”.
“There is mounting data,” the
association added, “showing that taxing
one small part of consumers’ daily diet
– sugar-sweetened beverages represent
less than 10% of daily caloric intake
– will not result in any significant
decrease in overall sugar consumption.”
For example, a recent report by
private research university, Instituto
Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico
(Itam), on this tax in its home country
revealed a minimal reduction of actual
calories consumed. When accounting
for the real-world substitution of
other foods containing sugar, experts
estimated a maximum reduction of six
calories in the daily diet.
And BevSA cited other countries,
like Denmark, that had repealed such
legislation because of what was
described as “economic loss
and no improvement in public
health”.
Not that the soft drinks
industry has just sat back and
moaned.
Over 40 industry players
across all food and beverages
have agreed to and already
adopted concrete steps to make
changes.
What they have targeted are:
educating consumers; actively
promoting low and no-calorie choices
in soft drinks; a zero-based approach to
marketing to children. They have also
agreed to rapidly conduct a national
caloric intake study. One which they
said “will inform effective initiatives to
reduce excessive sugar consumption,
based on real data that reflects the real
behaviour of SA consumers”.
Sugar tax could cost local economy R14bn
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