Food Security Public Hearing Portfolio Committee on Agriculture:

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• Food Security Public Hearing Portfolio Committee
  on Agriculture
• 12 March 2003
• Jannie de Villiers PJ Moloitsane
• National Chamber of Milling
• Tel. [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail info_at_grainmilling.org.za

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Chamber of Milling represents 97 of wheat flour
milled in South Africa National Association of
Maize Millers represents 85 of white maize
milled in South Africa
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Introduction

• Food availability.
• Food accessibility.
• Food affordability.
• Food safety.

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Food availability

• Apartheid regime Isolation ?self-sufficiency.
• Post 1994 Liberalisation ? trade is security.
• Availability (million ton)
• SA World
• consumption production
• White maize 4,0 70,0 6
• Yellow maize 3,0 520,0 0,6
• Wheat 2,5 565,0 0,4

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• Crop estimates South Africa
• (million ton)
• White maize 5,7
• Yellow maize 3,1
• Wheat 2,3

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• Government strategic stocks No, No!
• ? Cost WM (4 months) 1,333 mmt
• ? _at_ R1 000 _at_ 17 R227 million
• ? Handling and storage
• _at_ R50 R 67 million
• ? Minimum cost WM R300 million
• ? Minimum cost wheat R250 million

• Private sector investment in milling
  industry is R5,7 billion NO CHANCE THAT WE WILL
  RUN OUT OF STOCK too much to loose.
• Wordwide trend for governments not to carry
  stocks.

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Food accessibility

• Treasure Report on Food Prices (June 2002) by
  Professors Vink and Kirsten (p65)
• ? Liberalisation has generated more successes
  than generally recognised.

? Consumer vulnerability to price instability
under liberalisation has not been as severe as
often portrayed.
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• Role of government
• Improve transport infrastructure.
• Promotion of trade.
• Market information systems.
• Improved communication infra-
• structure.
• Develop market orientated
• mechanisms (e.g. SAFEX).
• Improve access to foreign
• exchange.

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• NAMC Report ECI (including field survey).
• ? Most of the evidence in favour of
  deregulation can be found in the direct
  measurement of the food security status of the
  rural poor of South Africa.

? Everyone in South Africa has, on average,
better access to better quality basic services
than 10 years ago.
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? There was good access to food, both in
quantity and variety, throughout the areas that
were surveyed by the study team. This access is
a fundamental aspect of food security.
? Care must be taken in the coming future with
respect to the households headed by pension
earners as these are quite old and their passing
will likely have a critical impact on the
households ability to purchase food, and hence
affect their food security.
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? The implication from the household level
survey are that deregulation of agricultural
markets in South Africa has been beneficial for
food security at household level.
? The more serious issues to be addressed are
the sources and levels of income for the
households to be able to purchase food, as these
were ultimately the determining factors behind
food security at the household level.
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Food affordability
Products Retail price Cost of dietary
  (R/kg)¹ energy (c/100 kj)
Super maize meal² 3.89 25.4
Samp² 4.49 29.0
Brown bread³ 5.14 54.1
Rice 7.50 54.1
Pasta 8.68 60.7
Bread rolls 7.51 79.0
Cornflakes 21.66 138.0
¹Based on supermarket prices in June 2002 and
nutritional data provided by manufacturers ²Based
on kilojoule data from MRC 1991. ³Brown bread has
been used in this table and not white bread which
is subject to VAT to provide a comparable figure
to maize and rice which are VAT free. Source S
A Chamber of Baking
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• Direct aid e.g. pension Applauded

• Food stamps investigation
• School feeding schemes
• Cheap food imports are expensive in long run
• ECI Effective utilisation depends on
  knowledge within the household of food storage
  and processing techniques, basic principles of
  nutrition, proper childcare and illness
  management.

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Food safety

• Department of Agriculture Phyto-sanitary
  (plants)
• Department of Health Sanitary (human)

• Industry Voluntary self regulation
• Quarterly surveys at the SAGL
• Annual crop quality survey at the
• SAGL
• Trade mark protection and investors
• interest
• Food fortification program
• Grading regulations (NDA).

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Summary

• Applauded governments faith in free market
  system as a policy.

• Encourage direct aid e.g. pensions and
• feeding schemes

• We wont let you down to supply staple
  
• food to our nation!

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(No Transcript)