Nufarmer Africa
New application for statutory
measures
Invitation to directly affected groups in the grain industry to forward comments
regarding the request from the maize and wheat forums
T
he National Agricultural Marketing
Council (NAMC) received a new request
from the Maize and the Wheat Forums,
on behalf of directly affected groups in the
grain industry, for the introduction and
promulgation of statutory measures, namely
registration and the keeping of information
and submitting monthly returns in respect
of maize products and wheaten products
manufactured, processed, imported and/or
exported.
There is currently no reliable information available in South Africa regarding the
manufacture, processing, import and export
of maize products and wheaten products. No
statutory measures exist in respect of such
information. The relevant industry associations, which have collected and disseminated
information regarding such products in the
past, have terminated these functions due
to actions by the Competitions Commission
against those associations and their members.
Information on the manufacture, processing, import and export of maize products and
wheaten products is crucial for the effective
operation of the maize and wheat markets
and for market participants to be able to plan
properly. The supply of generic market information to all role-players, on a continuous
basis, is therefore essential. The maintenance
of macro industry information is regarded as
critical for strategic planning by the maize
and wheat industries, as well as for individual
directly affected groups.
For the above reasons the Maize Forum
and the Wheat Forum have decided to make
a joint application for statutory measures
in order to obtain the minimum required
information regarding the products in question. The purpose and aim of the statutory
measures are to provide for the registration of
the relevant parties and for the gathering and
dissemination of proper market information
to the benefit of the maize and wheat industries at large.
The proposal entails that the South African
Grain Information Service (SAGIS) will be
responsible for the registration, as well as the
collection, dissemination and distribution of
the information associated with the statutory measures that are requested. SAGIS has
been established as an objective and reliable
provider of information, both nationally and
internationally.
The two Forums agreed to propose that
all manufacturers, importers and exporters of
maize products and wheaten products should
register with SAGIS. Furthermore that each
manufacturer, importer and exporter of maize
products and wheaten products, excluding
such manufacturers, importers and exporters
that are not registered VAT vendors, shall keep
complete records for each calendar month
in respect of maize products and wheaten
products that are manufactured, imported or
exported by them for own use or for commercial purposes. This shall include any person
who acts in the capacity of the aforementioned persons.
The term “maize product” means the following
products derived from maize:
Maize Chop
Maize Grits
Maize Rice
Samp
Sifted Maize Meal
Special Maize Meal
Super Maize Meal and
Unsifted Maize Meal
The term “wheaten product” means the following products derived from wheat:
Brown Pan Baked Bread (400g/600g/700g/
other)
White Pan Baked Bread (400g/600g/700g/
other)
6
Whole Wheat Pan Baked Bread
(400g/600g/700g/other)
Other Pan Baked Bread
Wheat Bran
Wheat Meal
Brown Bread Flour
Cake Flour
Other Bread Flour
Self-Raising Flour and
White Bread Flour
The statutory measures, if