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CHAPTER 4
Neethling. The Executive also decided to request the Wheat Board to grant the WPO
the opportunity to make an annual price submission to the Wheat Board. Until
then, the proposal had been made by one of the members of the Wheat Board.
The Wheat Board was also requested to agree to Messrs H Claasen and F du Bois
presenting the proposal to them.
Commission of enquiry into the Marketing Act
With the appointment of the Kassier Committee in 1992 to enquire into the Marketing
Act, the WPO drafted comments that were presented as supporting documents
to the Wheat Board’s submission to the Committee. In reaction to the final Kassier
report, the Chairperson of the WPO, Mr Andries Beyers, pointed out that experience
had shown that the deregulation of agricultural markets did not necessarily lead to
cheaper food as had been alleged in the media.
Following the Kassier report, the WPO realised that the government’s eventual
decision regarding statutory marketing could possibly influence the WPO’s future
financing and functioning. Consequently, a WPO Chairperson’s committee met
representatives of the ANC on 10 June 1993 to get up to speed on their views re-
garding agricultural policy. At the same time the WPO, as the representative of the
winter cereal producers, conveyed their view on winter cereal policies to the ANC.
The WPO’s Executive was of the opinion that it was vital for the WPO to continue
to exist, be it in its current or in a modified form. Consequently, a working group
comprising Messrs Beyers, Crawford von Abo, Du Bois and Hawkins was consti-
tuted on 15 September 1993 to investigate alternative methods of funding for the
WPO that could be implemented should statutory levies be abolished.
In the run-up to the changes to theMarketingAct of 1968, thewinter cereal producers
were of the opinion that the statutory single-channel marketing system was still the
best method of marketing the South African winter cereal crop – specifically wheat
and barley. The WPO’s management argued that a level playing field in the industry
would only be possible if the producers negotiated collectively.
The Wheat Board supported the WPO’s views by pointing out to the Kassier
Committee that all grain-producing countries in the world offer some form of
protection to their producers or exercise a measure of control over their marketing
system. The Wheat Board contended that the winter cereal scheme had succeeded
in organising the market with respect to winter cereals in an excellent way. However,
the Kassier Committee did not agree with this.
New Marketing Act
At the WPO’s Executive meeting of 26 March 1996 cognisance was taken of the
Marketing of Agricultural Products Bill, which had been published in theGovernment
Gazette. The Bill was also discussed during the meeting of the Chairpersons com-
mittee on 25 June 1996 and cognisance was taken that the new Marketing Act
would probably come into effect before the end of 1996.
On 2 October 1996 the new Marketing of Agricultural Products Act was indeed
announced for implementation on 1 January 1997. This Act, implementing invasive
changes to the Marketing Act of 1968, also pressurised the winter cereal industry
immensely to adapt according to the new provisions.
TheWheat Board drafted a business plan, aswas required in terms of theMarketingAct
of 1996. This business plan was discussed in its totality by the WPO’s structures and
they responded with proper inputs. In addition the WPO’s Executive contemplated the
future marketing of winter cereal and decided that theWPO as a producer organisation
would not get involved in the marketing of winter cereal. It was decided that Unie-
graan would be asked to establish a winter cereal industry committee within its struc-
tures where coordination regarding the marketing of winter cereal could take place.
The WPO’s Executive also decided that the following two requests should be in-
cluded in the business plan:
• A request for the introduction of a statutory levy for the financing of research; and
• A request that bridging finance should be granted to the WPO for one year.