Omnia encouraged by govt move

Johannesburg - Specialist chemical services provider Omnia on Wednesday responded to media reports that the Department of Trade and Industry was considering raising import tariffs and introducing export taxes to aid the agriculture industry.

Omnia MD, Rod Humphris said the group applauded the South African government for recognising agriculture's strategic significance for the economy.

"Following the example of other countries which actively support their agricultural practices, this is an important development for South African agriculture as it has always been hard for local farmers to compete against the international players."

He added that farming remains vitally important to the economy and development of the southern African region. These proposed measures will address the triple concerns of food security, farmers' livelihoods and rural development.

"It is important that government takes a lead in producing the appropriate legislation to facilitate the development of this vital sector and its potential to create jobs, guarantee economic growth, ensure food security as well as to encourage foreign exchange savings," Humphris continued.

However, of particular concern is the reference to plans to possibly introduce export taxes. There is a growing realisation that this could lead to problems within the agriculture industry.

The implementation of any such tax could have the opposite effect to what the government is trying to achieve and would have to be carefully considered to prevent any slowdown in agricultural production.

"We would however, encourage the authorities to put measures in place to boost exports. This combined with import tariffs would have an extremely positive impact on the agriculture industry," Humphris concluded.

- I-Net Bridge