World Grain - June 2009 - 22

COUNTRYFOCUS

Focus on South Africa
Nation has embraced GM crops while
others on the continent oppose
biotech development
by Chris Lyddon

South Africa is a country full of contrasts. In agriculture that means a
successful commercial farming sector in a country with many subsistence
farmers. It's a net food exporter, even though much of its land is too dry
for viable food production.
Maize is by far South Africa's most important cereal crop. According to the International Grains Council (IGC), maize production in
2009-10 is estimated at 10 million tonnes, while its estimate for 200809 is 11.2 million tonnes. This includes 6.5 million tonnes of white
maize and 4.7 million of yellow maize.
In 2008-09, South Africa imported 100,000 tonnes of maize and exported 2.3 million tonnes.
The IGC puts wheat production in 2008-09 at 2.1 million tonnes, compared with 1.9 million in 2007-08. Wheat imports were 1.3 million tonnes.
The country also imports 900,000 tonnes a year of soybean meal, while
2008-09 imports of rice are also put at 900,000 tonnes, up 200,000.
MILLING AND BAKING INDUSTRIES

According to the South African Grain Information Service, 65 wheat
mills and 245 maize mills are registered in South Africa. They include
four major companies: Premier, Tiger, Sasko and Ruto Mills, which play a
key role in the industry. "The basic trend is that the number of wheat millers is decreasing," Jannie de Villiers, executive director of the Chamber of
Milling, told World Grain. "Since the deregulation in 1997, the number of
wheat mills (initially) increased, but over time has decreased as these new
entrants find it more and more difficult to meet
ZIMBABWE
the requirements of the market."
NAMIBIA
BOTSWANA
The number of maize millers, in contrast, has
steadily increased since deregulation. The marSWAZILAND
ket share of the informal maize milling sector
LESOTHO
has increased from 15% in the 1980s to 40%
SOUTH
currently, he said.
AFRICA
The Chamber of Milling represents 13 companies that process wheat and 22 white maize
processors.
The estimated wheat milling capacity of
South Africa is 3.3 million tonnes, while the maize
milling capacity is 4.7 million tonnes. "We estimate
that the current utilization, on average, is 85%," de
Villiers said. "The capacity utilization has decreased
since deregulation in 1997."
The amount of white maize milled in South Africa had fallen by
22

Key Facts
Capital: Pretoria (administrative capital)
Population: 49,052,489 (July 2009 est.)
Religions: Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic
8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed
6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%,
other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census).
Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the
continent of Africa.
Government: Republic. Chief of state and head of
government: President Jacob Zuma (since May 9, 2009).
Economy: South Africa is a middle-income, emerging
market with an abundant supply of natural resources.
It has well-developed financial, legal, communications,
energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that is
17th largest in the world, and modern infrastructure
supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major
urban centers throughout the region. Growth was robust
from 2004 to 2008 as South Africa reaped the benefits
of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities
boom. But the South African economy began to slow in
the second half of 2008 due to the global financial crisis'
impact on commodity prices and demand. Unemployment
remains high, and outdated infrastructure has constrained
growth. At the end of 2007, South Africa began to
experience an electricity crisis because state power
supplier Eskom suffered supply problems with aged plants,
necessitating "load-shedding" cuts to residents and
businesses in the major cities. Daunting economic problems
remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of
economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups,
and a shortage of public transportation. South African
economic policy is fiscally conservative but pragmatic,
focusing on controlling inflation, maintaining a budget
surplus and using state-owned enterprises to deliver basic
services to low-income areas as a means to increase job
growth and household income.
GDP per capita: $10,000 (2008 est.); Inflation: 11.3%
(2008 est.); unemployment 21.7% (2008 est.)
Currency: Rand (ZAR). 8.43 rands equal 1 U.S. dollar (May
19, 2009),
Exports: $81.47 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.): gold, diamonds,
platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and
equipment.
Imports: $87.3 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.): machinery and
equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific
instruments, foodstuffs.
Major crops/agricultural products: Corn, wheat,
sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool,
dairy products.
Agriculture: 3.4% of GDP and 9% of the labor force
Internet: Code. .za; 1.297 million (2008) hosts and 5.1
million (2005) users
Source: CIA World Factbook

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