South Africa remains a net wheat importer, with imports set to remain high in 2025/26

down from 1.83 million tonnes in 2024/25 due to an expected modest recovery in domestic production. Nevertheless, imports will remain substantial, covering nearly half of the country’s annual consumption, estimated at 3.8 million tonnes. South Africa began importing over a million tonnes of wheat starting in the MY 2003/04. Prior to that, annual imports averaged around 458,000 tonnes, reflecting high consumption and a reduction in wheat-planted areas. Since 1997/98, wheat plantings in the country fell below one million hectares due to low profitability for farmers and less favorable climatic conditions, particularly in the Free State province. Following the deregulation of agricultural markets, South African farmers had to compete on the global market. This increased profitability only in a few central regions with favorable conditions for high-quality wheat production, including the Western Cape and irrigated areas in the Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, and North West ...