Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Corné Louw, head of applied economics and member services at Agbiz, confirmed that the hearing, originally scheduled for 8 October, had been postponed because the judge assigned to the case was unavailable for health reasons.
As previously reported by Farmer’s Weekly, Grain SA is seeking an interdict to prevent the JSE from implementing its latest decision on soya bean location differentials pending the outcome of a separate review application challenging the lawfulness of the decision and the process followed.
Louw explained that the proceedings involved two separate applications: the interdict sought temporary relief, while the review application asked the court to examine the JSE’s decision and set it aside.
He added that the postponement did not mean that the case had been withdrawn or concluded.
Soya bean pricing dispute
The dispute arose from the JSE’S decision to reinstate its single reference point (SRP) methodology after piloting the multiple reference point (MRP) model over two marketing seasons.
Location differentials account for transport-related costs when pricing soya bean futures contracts at JSE-registered delivery silos. These adjustments influence the relationship between futures prices and the prices producers may receive in the physical market.
Under the SRP system, location differentials are calculated relative to one benchmark location, even when soya beans are delivered to processors closer to production areas.
The MRP model instead considers several demand centres, regional soya bean availability, and the most economical transport routes between producers and processors.
The JSE has proposed replacing Randfontein with Driefontein as the benchmark location when the SRP methodology is reintroduced from 1 March 2027.
Grain SA maintains that the MRP methodology better reflects the physical movement of soya beans and has questioned whether the JSE adequately considered the technical evaluation before deciding to discontinue the model.
