NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Food Security Public Hearing Portfolio Committee on Agriculture: 12 March 2003 Jannie de Villiers & PJ Moloitsane National Chamber of Milling Tel.(012) Fax(012)

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING 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

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Introduction Food availability. Food accessibility. Food affordability. Food safety.

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Food availability Apartheid regime: Isolation  self- sufficiency. Post 1994: Liberalisation  trade is security. Availability (million ton) SAWorld% consumptionproduction White maize 4,0 70,06 Yellow maize 3,0 520,00,6 Wheat 2,5 565,00,4

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Crop estimates South Africa (million ton) White maize5,7 Yellow maize3,1 Wheat2,3

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Government strategic stocks: No, No!  Cost WM (4 months)1,333 mmt R1 17%R227 million  Handling and R50R 67 million  Minimum cost WMR300 million  Minimum cost wheatR250 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.

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING 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.’

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING  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.

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING 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.’

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING  ‘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.’

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING  ‘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.’

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Food affordability ProductsRetail priceCost of dietary (R/kg)¹energy (c/100 kj) Super maize meal² Samp² Brown bread³ Rice Pasta Bread rolls Cornflakes ¹Based on supermarket prices in June 2002 and nutritional data provided by manufacturers ²Based on kilojoule data from MRC 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

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING 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.’

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING 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).

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING Summary Applauded government’s faith in free market system as a policy. Encourage direct aid e.g. pensions and feeding schemes We won’t let you down to supply staple food to our nation!

NATIONAL CHAMBER OF MILLING THANK YOU!