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Botswana Suspends Imports Of Certain SA Commodities
Botswana suspends imports of certain SA commodities
By Glenneis Kriel | 23 January 2025 | 8:42 pm
Due to outbreaks of Goss’s bacterial wilt (Clovibacter michiganensis subsp. Nebraskensis) and bud rot of palms (Phytophthora palmivora) in South Africa, Botswana’s Ministry of Lands and Agriculture (MLA) recently suspended imports of certain commodities from South Africa.
The MLA said in a press release that these diseases had not yet been detected in Botswana, and that the import suspension was aimed at protecting the local industry against the introduction and spreading of these diseases in Botswana.
Products affected by the ban are, but are not limited to maize, sorghum, sugarcanes and other grasses such as sudan grass, Barnyard grass, palms, pawpaw, kiwi, coconut, durian and cocoa.
Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, said South Africa had met its obligations as a member of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPCC) by notifying trading partners and the IPPC of the outbreaks. However, Botswana was the only country to respond with such a measure.
“We regard Botswana’s decision as overly cautious, as Goss’s disease is not spread through the trade of grain for human and animal consumption.”
The South African Department of Agriculture issued two separate press statements in response to each of these outbreaks.
According to one statement, the National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa confirmed the detection of bud rot of palms in two papaya orchards in Mopani, Limpopo, and three in the Ehlanzeni district municipality in Mpumalanga in August 2024.
The agriculture department was reportedly conducting delimiting surveys in all production areas to determine the extent of the spread, and has implemented phytosanitary measures to restrict the movement of host material from infested to non-infested areas.
Farmers were encouraged to practice effective cultural control by using resistant varieties, chemical control where relevant and consistently monitoring their orchards to prevent the disease from spreading.
According to the statement on Goss’s bacterial wilt, the disease was detected on maize in the Free State, North West, Gauteng and Eastern Cape.
The agriculture department was reportedly conducting research to understand the epidemiology and management of the pest to support local maize producers, while conducting delimiting surveys to determine the extent of the spread of the disease.
According to the agriculture department, maize is the only known economically important host of the pathogen. The bacterial disease can be managed by planting highly-resistant maize hybrids, by reducing movement of infected stubble between fields, and by rotating host crops with non-host crops.
Steenhuisen noted that wheat, for instance, is not known to be a host, although both wheat and maize grain for consumption have been banned. He added that grain imported for human and animal consumption undergoes processing through crushing, milling, and pelleting, which further reduces any risk of introducing the pest.
Tobias Doyer, CEO of Grain SA, said that Botswana’s import suspension would not have a major impact on South Africa. Over the past five years, South Africa exported an average of 44 000t/year of yellow maize to Botswana, accounting for only 2,4% of the country’s total yellow maize exports.
While South Africa exported around 228 000t/year of white maize to Botswana over the past five years, which accounts for 20% of the country’s total white maize exports, the country has already exported a large portion of this to Botswana for the 2024/25 season.
As such, Doyer did not expect the export suspension to have a major impact on local prices. However, he added that South Africa and Zambia were the only countries in Southern Africa that consistently exported maize, and that Zambia had had a very poor season. He was therefore concerned about where Botswana would import its maize from to meet its deficit.
Meanwhile, Steenhuisen said the department had provided technical information to its Botswanan counterparts but had not yet received a response. As a result, the department had requested an urgent technical bilateral meeting through diplomatic channels.
“The department is hopeful that a technical bilateral meeting will resolve the issue, as there is no phytosanitary reason to [suspend] the trade of grains,” he said.
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