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THE
GRAIN AND OILSEED INDUSTRY
OF SOUTH AFRICA – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
ႆႊ
Next to wheat, barley is probably the most important small grain in South Africa.
Production of malting barley under dryland conditions requires high rainfall that is
distributed very well across the production period. In South Africa this is limited
to a specific region in the Southern Cape that stretches from Botrivier in the west
to Heidelberg in the east. However, barley is produced under irrigation in various
areas in the country, like in the cooler irrigation areas of the Northern Cape and on
a smaller scale in places in North West and Limpopo.
The processing of barley into malt is concentrated mainly in Caledon in the Western
Cape, although it is done on a smaller scale in Alrode near Johannesburg as well.
The market for malting barley in South Africa in effect consists of only one major
buyer, namely South African Breweries Maltings (SABM), which supplies its majority
shareholder, South African Breweries Limited (SAB), with malting barley.
Barley producers are assured of a market for their product, as the former SAB
Group has given a written undertaking to purchase barley only locally by way of
fixed-price forward contracts.
Research with respect to barley is conducted by the Small Grains Institute at Bethle-
hem in the Free State and the South African Barley Breeders’ Institute (Sabbi) near
Caledon, and is funded by way of statutory levies on barley sales.
SORGHUM PERSPECTIVE
Introduction
Sorghum is a tropical grain grass that is indigenous to Africa, and according to some
sources it has been produced in southern Africa for more than 3 000 years. Currently
it is produced worldwide in warmer regions and in terms of volume it is regarded
as one of the most important grain types in the world. It is increasingly used as the
basis for successful food and beverages industries and is an important source of
food security, particularly in Africa, because it offers excellent nutritional value.
In South Africa sorghum is, in terms of volume, the third biggest grain after maize
and wheat. Sorghum production in South Africa can be divided between commer-
cial and smallholder or subsistence farms. The small farmers usually use their own
production, which makes it difficult to determine exactly how much sorghum is
actually produced in South Africa. It is estimated that on average about 13% of the
total annual sorghum production in South Africa from 2009 to 2013 was employed
for own consumption by producers, particularly by non-commercial producers.
One of the outstanding properties of sorghum is that it is highly effective in con-
verting solar energy into food. It is well adapted to drought conditions and is
produced mainly in the drier summer rainfall areas of Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the
Free State, North West and Gauteng.
It is interesting that several of the sorghum varieties cultivated in the USA probably
came from 16 different varieties that were exported there from the former Natal
in 1857.
In spite of South African sorghum production representing only a small percentage
compared to maize, the sorghum industry is well established and leads the way
in many areas in a global context. Agronomic research, as well as research into
milling and malting quality, has been conducted by internationally recognised
scientific institutions for decades.
Production
Although South Africa produces the third biggest grain crop in South Africa,
it contributes only a small percentage of the total domestic grain crop. From
2004/2005 until 2014/2015 about 189 522 tons of sorghum on average were pro-
duced annually in South Africa, which represents only about 1,64% and 10,17%
of the average annual maize and wheat crops respectively over that period.
The Free State is the biggest producer of sorghum in South Africa and from
2004/2005 until 2013/2014 it annually produced on average 54% of the sorghum
A close-up view of sorghum kernels.