LETTER: Agricultural levies should be reduced to match permissible costs
A case exists for a major reduction in levy charges as ‘excess’ levies are being used to subsidise non-levy activities
As a small investor in the agricultural sector, I recently stumbled onto the subject of statutory agricultural levies permitted in terms of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act. Digging a little deeper, I found that this levy is used in numerous agricultural industries for the financing of certain permissible expenses, and the total raised is approaching R1bn a year.
The levy is collected along the product chain but is financed by the consumer. It can be applied to export activity, which has achieved much success in many industries, and is paid for by foreign consumers as well as through locally produced and imported products paid for by local consumers...
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