The First SADC Sugar Conference held in Johannesburg in early September, 2007, was an outstanding success, both in terms of the quality of speaker presentations and audience participation. Sugar is a complex and often fraught subject in the context of Southern Africa, but the conference succeeded in shedding light on many of the issues.

The presentations by significant players within the extended sugar industry such as Lindsay Jolly, Neil Brimacombe, Johann van der Merwe and Andre Kudlinski gave a good overview of the industry from the perspective of the economists, marketers, government policy makers and industrial users. Excellent panels discussions moderated by Bruce Galloway, David Willers and Jennifer Smith allowed a fuller debate to develop around key issues. Suppliers to the industry contributed from the audience and raised the need for more collaborative discussions to take place within the industry in respect of innovation.

Though there was frank discussion between producers and users it all took place in a generally amicable atmosphere, and the consensus at the end of the day was that the sugar industry at every level had benefited from a more informed understanding of the topics. It is clear that there is still room for much discussion and debate around the sugar industry. It has tremendous potential to enhance the lives of the SADC community and will be more likely to do so if all members in the sugar value chain can be persuaded to sit down and work together towards common growth goals.

There was general enthusiasm to see another SADC sugar conference run along similar lines next year. The great benefit of having a seasoned conference company like Omega in charge of such a commodity conference is that it is genuinely able to create a neutral environment and transparent agenda.