SA Groundnut Forum (SAGF)
held on 26 March 2014 at 10:00 at the offices of the Oilseeds Industry, Rivonia
Opening
The meeting was opened with a prayer offered by Mr Scholtemeijer.
Welcome
The Chairperson, Mr Gerhard Keun, welcomed all present to the meeting of the Groundnut Forum.
Attendance
Present
Mr GTduT Keun Chairperson Mr GJH Scholtemeijer OAC Dr WJ van der Walt SANCU & OAC Mr PA Visser Golden Peanut Mr C Mathews Lowveld College Mr JL Nienaber RE Groundnuts s T Mulder Bridge Procurement Ms C Walters C. Steinway Processing Mr D Hellon Bridge procurement Mr H Engelbrecht PPECB-Laboratory Mr N Wegner PPECB Mr S Heilbron PPECB Mr R Nerwich The Snack Factory Mr P Sanford FR Waring Ms A van Deventer Praxia Trading Ms P Campbell Department of Health Mr F Minnaar GrainSA Mr L de Kock Roba Foods Ms L Salomon ARG-GCI Mr A Cronje Tiger brands Ms M Hodgman VGM Mr P van Wyk VGM Mr C Louw GrainSA Mr N Hawkins SAGIS Ms E Harmse OPDT Contractor Apologies
Mr C van Rooyen Landbou Weekblad Mr L Louwrens Simba Mr D Boshoff AFMA Dr L Chetty SANSOR Mr J Cohn OLAM Ms M Purnell GSI Mr C Nortjé GWK Dr Naicker PPECB Mr O De Wit Praxia Trading Ms R Beukes Crop Estimates Committee Ms M Scheepers Crop Estimates Committee Mr W Higgs Triotrade Dr M Visser GrainSA Ms A Pretorius ARC-GCI Dr G Thompson ARC-GCI Mr C Thabete Department of Health Mr A Evans RE Groundnuts Mr C van Zyl Triotrade Personalia
A moment of silence was held in respect of two members and role players in the Groundnut Industry that has passed away recently: Gerhard Fourie and Hannes Koen.
Finalisation of agenda
The agenda was accepted as it stood, with the addition of:
- Item 8.1 – Mr N Hawkins request to start off with Item 8.1 as he has to be excused early.
- Item 9.4 – Research
- Item 9.5 – Groundnut Levy
Approval of minutes
Approval of the minutes of the meeting of the SA Groundnut Forum held on 12 February 2014
Resolved:
- That the minutes of the meeting of the SA Groundnut Forum that was held on 30 October 2013 be accepted as a true and fair reflection of that meeting.
Matters arising
Laboratories germination tests
The Chairperson stated that SENWES will try to render the same type of service to the groundnut Industry and that SENWES can be relied on with regards to the germination tests. Alternatives include ADVANCED SEED and also INCOTECT in KZN (Pietermaritzburg).
Farm audit
Mr Heilbron (PPECB) elaborated on the issue of the farm audits and will give the forum feedback after May 2014. He started with an overview in respect of the matter and mentioned that:
- He received feedback at the last preseason meeting with requests for more face to face meetings with the farmers. He has received two official invitations from processing facilities for between 7 and 9 April and he will be in the area engaging with the farmers and processing facilities about the most recent revised checklists.
- The request regarding timelines and information was favourably received by the industry. There is a challenge regarding logistics as some of the checklists did not reach the farmers and the Department of Agriculture and Mr Heilbron requested that more effort is put into this. He said that some processing facilities confirmed that they have ordered these checklists and some have already started with the distribution of these documents. He continued by saying that feedback should be gathered from the PPECB or the stakeholders and that issues should be clarified before it is too late.
Ms van Deventer suggested that the forum assist the industry and send the farmers newsletters, email, et cetera in this regard.
Mr Keun said to not request more documents than is needed. This exercise cost the industry R81 000. This document was forwarded to role players electronically by Ms Adri van Deventer and it is available at various places specifically to print from the webpages.
Mr De Kock said that the names of farmers to be audited had to be submitted. Due to the vast amount of travelling it will save money if they can plan their routes. He said the Groundnut Industry should all be on the same page with standards and that farmers should be warned that they will be audited sometime within the next three years and that they should prepare themselves. Farmers should furthermore be provided with the checklist. He added that if the processors do not want to distribute the documents to the farmers, alternative arrangements should be made.
Mr De Kock said Roba Nuts are busy distributing these documents to the farmers to prepare themselves for the audit.
Mr Scholtemeijer said that once again it is time for the Forum to come back to basics. The forum is a discussion forum and is not supposed to be rendering services. They are merely assisting with PPECB. He understands that GrainSA has various vehicles to get the documentation to the farmers, for e.g. their magazines and database. This is not something that members of the forum should do.
Mr Nienaber agreed and added that if you can get the bigger/leading farmers to comply, the rest will follow.
Mr Louw said that they have sent out the entire latest document to all of their members. He added that if anything must change, it must happen now and not to point fingers at institutions.
Mr Louw suggested that Mr Heilbron or GrainSA publish another article in the GrainSA magazine and added that this should not become the forum's problem. Mr Louw said various complaints were received and problems experienced in respect of the PPECB staff visiting the farmers. He added that this is for Mr Heilbron and Mr Wegner to sort out with the processors or the producers.
Resolved:
- That Mr Heilbron be requested to give feedback to the forum on farm audits after May 2014.
Mr Heilbron
- That more effort be put into the distribution of the audit checklists to producers and processors, starting with the bigger farmers.
Chairperson
Mr Louw
Phyto-sanitary requirements
Ms van Deventer mentioned that with regards to phyto-sanitary certification there are two scenarios to look at when importing groundnuts into South Africa:
- Unshelled or shelled for consumption must be free from Ecarpo Beetle and visually free from soil and with a declaration from the importer that the seed had been tested and is free from peanuts sun virus.
- Seed intended for planting. It was mentioned that the Groundnut Industry must be aware of the fact that by amending the phyto-sanitary requirements it could make it unnecessarily difficult to import groundnuts.
It was noted that Dr Thompson will provide the forum with a phyto-sanitary list.
Mr Visser added that when the groundnuts are tested, the seeds must be imported with the results.
Resolved:
- That Dr Thompson be requested to submit the phyto-sanitary list of the ARC-GCI for discussion by the forum.
Chairperson
Dr Thompson
Groundnut Yield Challenge
With regard to a groundnut yield challenge, it was suggested that the forum find someone that is impartial, may be from ARC or GrainSA, to verify the yields and the winners be invited to a Forum Meeting to inform members what practices they used to obtain the yield.
Mr Louw added that they do not have somebody that can do yield estimations but they are behind the concept of a competition. He added that yield estimation is very difficult due to the drying process.
The Chairperson stated that the aim of this challenge is to boost production and benefit the Groundnut Industry.
Mr Scholtemeijer suggested that:
- It is not necessary to involve the processing plants, only good farmers;
- The idea of such a competition is sharing information with other farmers;
- At a later stage the involvement of seed companies, fertiliser companies and chemical companies could be seeked to enter teams to participate in the challenge. These companies are to do marketing of their products, proving that trying to improve yield is positive and worth the effort.
The need for generic marketing of the peanut industry was highlighted and Mr Visser volunteers to draft a proposal regarding assistance to the industry in promoting peanuts in South Africa.
Mr Scholtemeijer also referred to the contracting of a consultant to assist with groundnut production.
Noted:
- That Mr Visser be requested to draft a proposal for a groundnut yield challenge to promote groundnuts in South Africa.
Chairperson
Mr Visser
Groundnut Industry Stand at NAMPO
Mr Visser mentioned that he has booked a stand at NAMPO, but due to time constrains a stand at NAMPO will not be operational this year (2014).
Mr Scholtemeijer said that the ARC is always there promoting groundnuts and that it could be beneficial talking to them about doing something together at this year's event.
Mrs Salomon agreed to discuss the possibility of making groundnut information available at the ARC's stand at NAMPO with the Public Relations Section at the ARC-GCI.
It was suggested that Mr Visser, Mr Scholtemeijer and the Chairperson discuss the possibility of a NAMPO stand for groundnuts for 2015.
Noted:
- That the Chairperson, Mr Visser and Mr Scholtemeijer discuss the possibility of a groundnut stand at NAMPO 2015.
Chairperson
Mr Visser
Mr Scholtemeijer
- That the Chairperson, Mr Visser and Mr Scholtemeijer discuss the possibility of a groundnut stand at NAMPO 2015.
Combined Groundnut Farmer's Day
Mr Visser reported that a groundnut week will be held from 7-11 April 2014 by Golden Peanut Company. At Vaalharts there will be a green tour day followed by a short seminar. From Vaalharts they will move to the Hoopstad area. Mr Visser said that international visitors will attend these days which include groundnut breeders.
Mr Scholtemeijer said that the OAC supports concept of bringing cultivars from abroad to give the local industry a boost. He added that they have an agreement with Mr Visser that they would partially fund the international visitors if some of the information days are accessible to the whole industry to go and visit and learn from the international experts.
Mr Visser mentioned that the 11th April 2014 at Hoopstad will be an open day and said that a programme and details of the information day will be forwarded to the office of the Oil Seeds Industry for distribution to all members of the SA Groundnut Forum.
It was noted that GrainSA started with discussions in respect of a combined information day during 2015. Feedback will be given at a next meeting of the forum.
Resolved:
- That invitations be sent to the members of the SA Groundnut Forum in respect of the Golden Peanut groundnut information day to be held on 11 April 2014 at Hoopstad.
Chairperson
Mr Visser - That feedback being awaited from GrainSA in respect of a combined groundnut day to be held during 2015.
Chairperson
Mr Louw
Mr Minnaar
- That invitations be sent to the members of the SA Groundnut Forum in respect of the Golden Peanut groundnut information day to be held on 11 April 2014 at Hoopstad.
Industry information and marketing aspects
SAGIS: General feedback and market information
Mr Hawkins presented the latest groundnut information, as compiled by SAGIS. He said the information included data on national and international supply and demand, local production figures, data on imports and exports, data on international and local stocks as well as indicative import and export parity prices, international prices and food prices. He noted that the Crop Estimates Committee's (CEC) groundnut production estimates were in line with the deliveries, as reported by SAGIS.
Mr Hawkins continued by drawing attention to the Supply and Demand figures and information gathered from SARS.
Mr Hawkins thanked everyone in the industry for helping with information and for their support and trust.
Mr Keun emphasised that all role players in the industry must please submit their information on time as that is the only way relevant information can be provided to the industry.
Mr Scholtemeijer asked Mr Hawkins to give the actual exchange rate and asked why groundnuts would be excluded from the document of volume. Mr Hawkins answered that there is no future price or exchange rate for groundnuts in the world.
Mr Hawkins shared that the decline in the edible market could be caused by the low prices of the snack market. He added that the snack market offers very good value for money as snacks like Puffs are quite cheap where peanuts and peanut butter is losing ground.
Mr Scholtemeijer suggested that the groundnut industry should start investing in generic marketing and advertising. Mr Keun suggested putting this point on the agenda for the next meeting.
Resolved:
- That a discussion point relating to generic marketing and advertising in the groundnut industry be included in the agenda for the next meeting.
Chairperson
- That a discussion point relating to generic marketing and advertising in the groundnut industry be included in the agenda for the next meeting.
Crop and area estimates
Cognisance was taken of the document "Area planted and first production forecast: 2014: Summer Crops" dated 27 February 2014.
Mr Hawkins mentioned that the Crop Estimates Committee will meet on Thursday, 27 March 2014, after which updated information regarding crop area and estimates will be released.
It was noted that the area planted increased from 46 900 ha the previous season to 52 525 ha this season.
It was further noted that the production increased from 41 500 tonnes the previous season to an estimated 82 365 tonnes this season.
Additional items
Articles
Cognisance was taken of the articles included as Annexure E.
Joint Food Safety Forum and MRL Work Group
Cognisance was taken that a Joint Food Safety Forum and MRL Work Group Meeting was held on 11 March 2014.
Cognisance was further taken that there were no new matters to report on.
International
Cognisance was taken of the contents of the articles "Eating Peanuts Daily Significantly Reduces All-Cause Mortality" and "Groundnuts could be blocked by upcoming changes in the European Union (EU), Plant Protection Regulation".
Research
The Chairperson said that the OAC is currently sending out invitations for research proposals to all the research institutions, universities and other role players for the 2015/16 financial year. Proposals must be submitted by the end of May 2014 for new project proposals and the end July 2014 for continuation project proposals.
Groundnut Producers Levy
Mr Minnaar referred to a voluntarily levy of R2.00 per ton of grain to GrainSA. In terms of groundnuts the levy income was very little. He mentioned that at the GrainSA Congress it was resolved that different tariffs to be levied for the different grains and in respect of groundnuts the levy to be paid in future is R13.00 per ton. Mr Minnaar further mentioned that GrainSA will negotiate with groundnut processors to collect these levies on behalf of GrainSA.
Next meeting
29 July 2014
Adjournment
The Chairperson thanked the members for their attendance and invites everybody for a light lunch. The meeting was adjourned at 12:45.