Tag: Wheat Focus | Koringfokus

The 2018/19 season represented the twenty-first annual wheat crop quality survey. The aim of these surveys is to accumulate commercial wheat crop quality data on a national level to assist industry in decision making processes.

Monitoring the quality of imported wheat is important to the entire wheat value chain, since South Africa relies on imports to supply local demand. During the period 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018, 231 samples of wheat imported for local use and representing 2 173 234 tons of wheat, were received from eleven countries and analysed by the Southern African Grain Laboratory NPC

The commercial wheat crop of the 2017/18 season was set at 1,535 million tons, which is 375 000 tons (19,6%) lower than the previous season’s crop and also 16% lower than the ten-year production average of 1 826 800 tons (2007/08 to 2016/17 seasons).

Wheat contributed 79% to the total winter cereal crop production in South Africa during the 2017/18 production season. The Southern African Grain Laboratory NPC (SAGL) received and analysed 304 samples to provide as best possible a proportional representation of the production of wheat in all the different production regions.

South Africa is a net importer of wheat and relies on imports to supply local demand. During the 2016/17
season 934 765 tons of wheat were imported for local use. This figure constitutes an almost 55% decrease compared to the severe drought stricken 2015/16 season.