SA maize industry must prioritise access to top 25 most attractive markets
OVER the years, there have been structural changes in South African agricultural markets, which have had a significant influence on the trade and marketing of agricultural commodities, particularly that of maize.Prior to the market liberalisation of the South African agricultural sector in 1997, the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act of 1968 provided a framework for domestic and international trading of agricultural commodities. The maize board, which is a single-channel fixed-price scheme, was established using a cost-plus approach to commodity pricing and margin determinations.However, following the gradual liberalisation of the grain commodity markets in the mid-1980s and the removal of trade sanctions against SA, the country’s agricultural industry was liberalised in 1997. This meant that producers (farmers) and marketing agents would be more interlinked to global markets and thereby to market forces.This era led to the formulation of the Marketing of Agricultural Products A...
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