Maize and wheat production trends in South Africa in a deregulated environment

Qualitative control measures and government regulation of the marketing of agricultural produce was seen as distorting the working of the market mechanism. Trade liberalisation, with tariffication of agricultural produce and the deregulation of the marketing of agricultural produce was therefore promoted. It was expected that producers of agricultural produce would respond to liberalisation efforts and deregulation in a way that would move production closer to some optimum point. An analysis of production trends for maize and wheat confirms that production of these commodities have moved closer to an optimum point, especially after the deregulation of these markets.