Fuel increase shock

The price of petrol will go up by 84c/litre. “Diesel, as a production input, makes up between 10% and 13% of a producer’s variable production cost,” said Corné Louw, Grain SA senior economist. “It takes 20l/ha harvest and transport maize to the nearest silo, so this increase causes a R15/ha rise in fuel cost,” Louw said. Agri SA estimates that every 1c increase in the price of diesel costs the industry an additional R10 million.