Food control agency on the cards

[Torsten]

Food control agency on the cards
27/07/2008 17:03 - (SA)

Cape Town - Cabinet has approved a draft framework for a national food control agency, President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday.

Briefing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet lekgotla held in Pretoria during the week, he said the framework would now “go out for consultation”.

“This arises out of the concern about the high and rising food prices and their impact on the poorest in the country,” he said.

It was necessary to have some institutionalised way to respond to it on a continuous basis, rather than an ad hoc basis.

The agency would study the phenomenon on an ongoing basis so that it could recommend to government what could be done to produce the desired results.

Mbeki said, some time ago, when government was faced with a similar problem of high and rising food prices, a pricing committee was set up to look into possible interventions.

Global problem

This had resulted, for example, in a major food company simplifying its packaging for mealy meal, which resulted in a significant reduction in price for consumers.

“But, given the current impact of high food prices - and it’s global - it’s clear that you are faced with a systemic challenge with regard to this; some structural challenge which is affecting the whole world.”

"And therefore you need an agency, which is kind of more permanent, less ad hoc, with greater capacity to look at the entirety of the food system, not only as it affects us, but within the global context, so that we respond to this, bearing in mind (it is); what seems to be a long-term feature of both the domestic and global economy.

“Particularly, given the impact of high food prices on poor people.”

Other government plans in this regard included the need to review the question of increasing agricultural production in the country, addressing the challenge of SA having become a net food importer over the years, and implementation of the agricultural strategy agreed to with organised agriculture, Mbeki said.

Source: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,2-7-12_2365102,00.html

They were reaping the results from their anti-white and anti-farming policies and now they will be trying to solve this by price controls or worse.

[fsk]

Price controls don’t work. Suppose a law were passed mandating that bread costs $1 per loaf. Then, stores would be empty and there would be long lines for bread.

[MatthewWilliam]

Rationing bread would fix that problem.

[Jon_Irenicus]

In a way this might fix the problem - all the people who will die because of it, in the absence of black markets. Less mouths to feed, problem solved. [:P]

-Jon

[Juan]

They were reaping the results from their anti-white and anti-farming policies and now they will be trying to solve this by price controls or worse.

The price of food is going up worldwide because of massive inflation of the money supply.

[Torsten]

@Juan

The price of food is going up worldwide because of massive inflation of the money supply

To some minor extent this may have played a role in South Africa as well. However it is even admitted in the article that a decrease in food production is a major concern as well:

…Other government plans in this regard included the need to review the question of increasing agricultural production in the country, addressing the challenge of SA having become a net food importer over the years, and implementation of the agricultural strategy agreed to with organised agriculture, Mbeki said.

Food production decreased in total in Southern Africa as a whole with Zimbabwe (the once food exporting Rhodesia) being an extreme case. What happened in Zimbabwe is happening in South Africa to a less obvious extent. But I’m sure that the mass murder of farmers by people obviously sympathetic to the ANC slogan “kill the Boer, kill the farmer” is discouraging farming activities in South Africa as well. The decrease in food production in South Africa and Zimbabwe was to some extent compensated for by increases in countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique (were some farmers of these countries moved to). Other issues are the artificially blown up prices for Diesel, which of course make the provision of food more expensive as well. Then prices in general have been skewed due to “affirmative action”, “BEE”, jacked up electricity prices and the like. Not to forget that the official government alliance is actually calling for the expropriation of land discouraging reinvestment into farming as well:

SACP calls for radical land expropriation

I personally believe that the ANC cronies now “managing” the food production will even cause more problems for South Africa and I’m seriously considering this in my business strategies as well with possible shifts to the neighbouring countries.

[Jon_Irenicus]

That’s a part of it. It isn’t the only factor though, and in countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa what Torsten says is one of several factors.

-Jon