New wheat import tariff to be published without delay

South African wheat producers welcomed the Pretoria High Court ruling in favour of Grain SA, ordering government to publish the new wheat import tariff in the Government Gazette not later than 24 August.

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The court’s decision followed an urgent application to instruct government to publish the increased tariff of R1 591,40/t without delay.

Preline Swart, Grain SA vice-president and wheat producer in the Overberg district, said it was a pity that the publication has taken so long. However, the new tariff would contribute to sustainability and profitability in the SA wheat production industry.

Grain SA CEO Jannie de Villiers said in a statement the new tariff had been announced on 24 May this year, but government dragged its feet in publishing it.

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“It’s a sad day that we need to manage government through the courts, but at least this worked for us,” said De Villiers.

Trading on the SA wheat market almost came to a halt given all the uncertainties and delays pertaining to the publication of the new tariff.

“We need certainty. It’s unfortunate that the consumers did not benefit from this delay as the cheaper international prices of wheat were not passed on to the battling consumers by decreasing bread prices,” said De Villiers