Agricultural leaders across Mzansi have come out in defence of the department’s gazetted procedure for exports from the Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique to the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom (UK), citing that it was nothing new.
A racial war has erupted between agricultural leaders with some citing that the gazetted legislation was excluding white farmers and forcing them to “blend” their operations to be approved for exporting to the EU and UK respectively.
Many factors in the mix
According to a joint statement that was released and shared by many commodity groupings, there was no threshold or level that an applicant must reach to be awarded a permit.
“The Broad-Based-Economic-Black-Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) status of the applicant is but one factor that must be considered in conjunction with all other factors.
“Under the AgriBEE sector code, entities with a turnover of less than R10 million are exempted micro-enterprises and are deemed level 4. They merely need an affidavit to this effect and not a verified certificate,” the statement said.
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‘Business as usual’
Communications manager at Groote Post Wines Peter Pentz said from the producers’ side it was business as usual and the past week’s media reports were misinformed and one-sided.
“We continue to export, as we did in the past. We as producers and stakeholders must make informed comments that are based on facts and that encompass the context of the situation.
“This is crucial for the bigger picture of SA exports and advancement of vital trade agreement conversations,” he said.
Agricultural economists and organised agriculture have said there was nothing wrong with the gazette as it was the normal practice and a regular update that the government does to ensure that all exporters adhere to the regulations. There was nothing untoward to any racial grouping in the country.
According to the minister of agriculture, rural development, and land reform Thoko Didiza, the government message was misrepresented regarding the preferential tariff rate quotas for certain agricultural and agro-processing products.
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Complying with requirements
Didiza said in 2016, South Africa and other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) signed an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union. In addition, the country signed an EPA with the United Kingdom.
“Both agreements provided preferential and duty-free access to the European Union and the United Kingdom for agriculture and agro-processed products.
“About 96.2% of South Africa’s exported agricultural products are duty-free, while 2.5% enjoy partially free access to the European Union and the United Kingdom. Those that are partially duty-free like wine, dairy and sugar are offered tariff rate quotas,” she said.
Didiza said procedural requirements were being published regularly with clear requirements and the applicant needed to comply with those requirements.
“There is no threshold or level that an applicant must reach to be awarded a permit. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) status of the applicant is one factor that must be considered in conjunction with all other factors.
“The scope of the notices and gazettes do not apply to all exports but merely to those products contained in the gazette. This excludes fresh fruit but still applies to several of our key exports exported to the EU or UK under the preferential tariff rate quota,” she said.
Stick to the facts
Didiza has called for calm as the discussions are still ongoing as incorrect statements have the potential to harm the sector.
“We therefore urge all stakeholders to seek correct and factual information from the department before making comments. The department is committed and will continue to ensure all farmers enjoy access to EU and UK markets,” Didiza said.
Meanwhile, South Africa Wine has also echoed Didiza’s sentiments regarding the gazette that was published two weeks ago and has called for careful comments so that the industry does not get a negative image.
“Factually incorrect or sensationalist media articles may harm the sector’s prospects as these agreements are reviewed,” SA Wine said in a statement.
However, political parties such as the Democratic Alliance said the latest quotas target agricultural export businesses by making it illegal for farmers and businesses that do not meet strict racial black economic empowerment quotas to export their products to the EU and the UK.
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