Grain SA has announced that a new wheat import tariff of R851.50 per tonne was officially published and implemented on 11 July 2025, following a trigger on 27 May 2025.
By Maile Matsimela
According to Grain SA, “this update was processed within 32 working days – a significant improvement compared to the average 78 working days seen over the past two years”. The organisation noted that “it represents one of the fastest announcements following a tariff trigger in recent years, offering much-needed predictability to the market”.
As part of ongoing efforts to improve the system, Grain SA, in collaboration with the South African Cereals and Oilseeds Trade Association (SACOTA), submitted a formal application to the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) in 2024. Grain SA explained “the key objectives of this application are to advocate for the automation of the wheat tariff announcement process, ensuring faster and more transparent publication following trigger dates, and to review the current base reference price used in the tariff calculation methodology, which we believe needs to reflect market realities more accurately”.
The application remains under consideration by ITAC, with Grain SA continuing to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure meaningful progress.
Grain SA concluded by stating that the organisation “remains committed to safeguarding the interests of our producers and will keep you updated as developments unfold”.
How Import Taxes Protect South African Farmers
What this whole wheat tariff situation means is that South Africa protects its local wheat farmers by charging extra taxes on wheat brought in from other countries when foreign wheat becomes too cheap and threatens to put local farmers out of business. Recently, the government increased this “import tax” to R851.50 per tonne of foreign wheat, making imported wheat more expensive so that South African farmers can still compete and sell their wheat.
What’s significant here is that this tax increase was implemented much faster than usual – it only took 32 working days instead of the typical 78 days, which is good news because it means farmers get protection more quickly when they need it. However, Grain SA, which represents the farmers, still wants the government to automate and speed up the process further, and to revise the way these taxes are calculated to make them more realistic for today’s market conditions.
