The Beverage Association of South Africa (BevSA) has welcomed the decision by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) executive board not to endorse recommendations to impose a soft drinks tax on Member States.

This comes as the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday begins the first round of oral submissions as part of hearings into a proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs).

Government has proposed a 20 percent tax on sugary drinks from April, in a bid to curb the country’s high obesity rate.

The decision by the WHO not to endorse recommendations to impose a soft drinks tax was made during the executive board’s assessment of proposed cost effective interventions or “best buys” to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

In a statement, BevSA executive director, Mapule Ncanywa, welcomed the views of those Member States, including Canada, Italy, U.S. and New Zealand who raised concerns and opposition over a national soft drinks tax.

“BevSA has repeatedly called for more in-depth research before implementation of any tax and contends that a tax on SSBs is not the most effective way to tackle South Africa’s growing obesity levels,” Ncanywa said.

“Research of the full range of health, regulatory and economic impacts of a tax is required and should include a total dietary intake study; a detailed socio-economic impact assessment study and regulatory impact assessment.”

Ncanywa said BevSA supported the idea that the intake of sugar to the daily diet should be moderated and that education about good eating habits, among others, was vital.

She said industry members had already made significant progress in sugar reduction and reformulation, and that a sugar tax would do more harm than good to the industry.

“A sugar tax would harm the beverages industry and the country’s economic growth prospects, while delivering very limited health benefits. BevSA is committed to being part of the solution to reduce obesity in South Africa,” Ncanywa said.

“The proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages will have substantial unintended economic consequences, at a time when the economy is facing strong headwinds, curtailing industry’s ability to enhance contribution to broader economic growth, job creation and sustainability.”