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CHAPTER 1
At the NOPO Congress in 1995 recommendations for changes to the Oilseeds
Scheme from the 1996/1997 season were accepted, paving the road for full
deregulation of the oilseeds industry. These recommendations included that
prices for sunflower seeds and soybeans had to be determined in the market
environment in future so that the products could be traded freely between pro-
ducers and buyers, that international competitiveness had to be pursued, and
that a realistic rate-fixing policy for oilseeds and oilseed products be main-
tained. It was also recommended that the Oilseeds Board had to be retained
to fulfil certain functions, among other things to administer a surplus removal
system for groundnuts and sunflower seeds.
The free-market principles that were thus introduced required producers to take
careful note of the supply and demand position in South Africa and adapt their
production accordingly, as there was no longer only one guaranteed buyer. Failure