Drought Puts Added Pressure On Wheat Farmers

- Conce Moraba

The 2017/2018 production season was challenging for South Africa’s wheat farmers. The persistent drought in the Western Cape, South Africa’s main wheat-producing region, led to a 21% decline in production there. The total national wheat production estimate for 2017 was 1,5 million tons, compared with the previous season’s 1,9 million tons. Wheat farmers remain high-cost producers, making it difficult for them to compete with their more cost-efficient counterparts abroad.

As a result, the area under wheat in South Africa has dropped by more than 60% over the past 20 years. In turn, this has resulted in greater dependence on imports; South Africa currently imports 50% of its consumer needs.

This season, the country is expected to import between 60% and 65% of its wheat requirements. This is between 1,8 million and two million tons.