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.
Fuel increase shock
The depreciation of the rand forced the Department of Energy to announce an increase in the price of diesel by 78c/l from Wednesday next week.
