New racial rules for agricultural exports demonstrate ANC’s obsession with race

12 November 2023

The new regulations on Black Economic Empowerment requirements for the agricultural sector demonstrate the ANC government’s absolute obsession with race.

Its implementation will not only severely hamper the export of products, but will also jeopardise the whole of South Africa’s food security seeing as it will deter young farmers from entering the agricultural sector.

According to a report in Rapport today (“Wit boerderye mag nie uitvoer, sê staat”), new rules that were quietly published in the Government Gazette will prevent farming enterprises that are deemed “too white” from exporting to Britian and the European Union (EU).

In terms of the regulations, farming enterprises will have to comply with strict empowerment requirements in order to obtain export permits.

Agricultural enterprises with an annual turnover of less than R10 million are exempted from this, which is meaningless seeing as nearly all large exporters have a turnover that far exceeds R10 million per year.

The FF Plus will engage with all relevant organisations, including international ones, in a bid to oppose the requirements as they clearly contravene the constitutional principle of a free market.

The international community is not interested in racial quotas, but in free trade and procuring quality agricultural products.

The FF Plus will also take up the matter with the relevant minister and request that these discriminatory regulations should be done away with.

Moreover, the party will consider taking legal action if it proves to be a possible solution.

The ANC is deluding itself in thinking that it will canvass more votes for next year’s general elections by focusing on racism in its election campaigns.

The day before yesterday (Friday, 10 November), the Human Rights Commission (HRC) published a report stating that 120 children starved to death in the Eastern Cape.

This highlights the importance of food security, and it proves that the ANC does not care about the people of South Africa or the significant role of agriculture.

Agriculture feeds the nation and South Africa is generally not favourable for farming.

Government should, therefore, support and protect this sector in every possible way instead of knee-haltering it.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 12 November 2023