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MAIZE TARIFF WORKING GROUP SUBMISSIONMAIZE TARIFF INVESTIGATION: QUESTIONNAIREGENERIC INFORMATION ON THE MAIZE INDUSTRY
SECTION A:
GENERAL INFORMATION
1.Name and address of applicant ITAC
2.Existing tariff subheadingTable1. Existing tariff sub-heading and existing rate of duty for wheat and wheat products.Tariff HeadingSub-HeadingArticle DescriptionRates of dutyGeneralEUSADC
10.05Maize (Corn):1005.10-Seed8.424c / kg8.424c / kgFree1005.90-Other 8.424c / kg8.424c / kgFree11.02CEREAL FLOURS (EXCLUDING THAT OF WHEAT OR MESLIN1102.20Maize (Corn) flour12.63c / kg12.63c / kgFree11.03CEREAL GROATS, MEAL AND PELLETS:1103.1Groats and meal1103.13Of maize (corn)5%5%Free11.04CEREAL GRAINS OTHERWISE WORKED (FOR EXAMPLE, HULLED,ROLLED, FLAKED, PEARLED, SLICED ORKIBBLED; GERM OFCEREALS, WHOLE, ROLLED FLEAKED OR GROUND :1104.1Rolled or flaked grains:1104.19Of other cereals:1104.19.90 = Other20%0.572%Free1104.2Other worked grains (for example, hulled, pearled, sliced or kibbled):1104.23 = Of maize (corn):5%5%Free19.01**MALT EXTRACT; FOOD PREPARATIONS OF FLOUR, MEAL STARCHOR MALT EXTRACT, NOT CONTAINING COCOA OR CONTAININGLESS THAN 40 PER CENT BY MASS OF COCOA CALCULATED ON ATOTALLY DEFATTED BASIS, NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED OR INCLUDED; FOOD PREPARATIONS OF GOODS OF HEADING NOS.04.01 TO 04.04, NOT CONTAINING COCOA POWER OR CONTAININGLESS THAN 5 PER CENT BY MASS OF COCOA CALCULATED ON ATOTALLY DEFATED BASIS, NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED OR INCLUDED:1901.90 - Other:1901.90.10 = Corn flour10% or 55c/kgless 90%FreeFree
Source: SAGIS & Jacobsen’s – Customs Tariffs
1
**Footnote - the industry acknowledges that Chapter 19.01 is not part of the investigation as per government gazette. We therefore request the ITAC to also investigate this Chapter because of the loophole effects.
3.Tariff proposal
Not Generic
4.Reasons for the application
The findings and recommendations with respect to the efficiency of the current maize tariff dispensation can besummarised as follows:
•
The variability as well as length of the period between the triggering and the publishing of a tariff needs to beaddressed urgently. The validity of all the steps that need to be followed before a new tariff can be publishedneed to be reconsidered.
•
The current tariff dispensation has not succeeded in protecting the local role players in the maize market fromfluctuations that drive prices to levels at which they are not able to produce or consume on a sustainable basis.The possibility of a Rand-based import calculation needs to be analysed and considered.
•
According to World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations, the ultimate objective of agricultural tariffs is azero tariff dispensation in order to do justice to the concept of international comparative advantage so thatresources can be utilised in the most efficient way to increase national wealth.
•
Although the Marrakesh Agreement (GATT 1994) provides for reduction of subsidies in respect of agricultural products, the agreement does not require the elimination of subsidies and consequently subsidies will continueto distort international trade of, amongst others, maize.
•
SACU competitors in some of the other major maize producing countries enjoy substantial production and/or export support and this support usually depresses world prices and puts local producer prices under pressure.
•
When the Board of Tariff and Trade (BTT) made its recommendation with respect to the introduction of animport tariff in 1995, it did not only favoured a system under which the rate of customs duty would be adjustedto changes in the world price, but also recognised the significant influence the Rand/$ exchange rate will haveon the customs tariff determination. The report of the BTT (no. 3568, April 1995) states that “future structuralchanges in the Rand/$ relationship may therefore require a fundamental revision of the scheme”.
•
Over the past three years extreme exchange rate fluctuations have had a major impact on the agriculturalindustry on all levels. Given the statements in the BTT report of 1995, it seems that a “fundamental revision”of the scheme is now due.
•
There exists also a need in the industry to apply separate importing tariffs to white and yellow maize since it istwo different products that are used as raw material in different markets.
•
An institution like the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) can be requested to govern the process of calculating and publishing a tariff. SAGIS already publishes the calculation of the import duty aswell as the calculation of import and export parity prices on their website. Therefore, once the ITAC has2
approved a basic formula to calculate an import duty, the minister of trade and industry could delegate its powers to an institution like SAGIS to take the responsibility of maintaining the calculation of the new tariff.
5.Background of the industry
Primary Production Sector
Maize is the most important grain crop in South Africa, being both the major feed grain and the staple food for themajority of the South African population. Figure 1 illustrates that for the 2003/2004 marketing year maize wasresponsible for the second largest contribution (11.6%) to the gross value of the agricultural production with agross value of R8.32 billion (
NDA, Abstracts of Agriculture 2005
). Poultry slaughtered is the largest with acontribution R10.3 billion (14.4%). The South African maize industry is also the largest maize industry in Africa by far
(Food Price Monitoring Committee, 2003)
.In the past 5 years South Africa produced between 7.2 and 10.1 million tons of maize per annum, with an averageof 9.2 million tons per annum (5.6 million tons of white and 3.6 million tons of yellow maize). According to the National Crop Estimates Committee’s third production estimate a total maize crop of 11.5 million tons (6.85million tons white and 4.67 million tons of yellow maize) is expected for the current production season(2004/2005).The main maize production areas in South Africa are the Free State, Northwest and Mpumalanga provinces. Thesethree provinces are responsible for 85 % of the total maize produced in South Africa. Table 2 provides detailedinformation regarding the local maize production per province.
1
This section relies to a large extent on the document compiled by the Food Price Monitoring Committee: Part 4 Chapter 2.3
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Maize Tariff Sec A
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