Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, 1996 (Act No. 47 of 1996)

The purpose and aim of these statutory measures is to compel importers, producers, packers, exporters, processors and marketers of dried vine fruit to register with Raisins South Africa (Raisins SA). These shall include any person, e.g. a producer who acts in the capacity of the aforementioned persons. Registration of the said persons is necessary to enable Raisins SA to make available continuous, timely and accurate market information in respect of dried vine fruit for all role-players. It is essential that market information in the deregulated market be as accurate as possible in order to be able to make informed decisions. Through the combination of mandatory registration of the major role-players together with the submission of monthly returns (weekly in the case of fruit intake) on an individual basis, market information for the whole country can be processed and disseminated in the marketplace.

This statutory measure will not only assist in improving market access for all market participants, but it should also assist in promoting the affectivity of the marketing of dried vine fruit. The viability of the dried vine fruit industry will thus be promoted in general. The measure will not be detrimental to the number of employment opportunities or fair labour practice. All individual information collected will be managed in an appropriate manner.