Calls in South Africa to lift grain ethanol ban

In South Africa, the Democratic Alliance has called for the lifting of a ban on maize for ethanol production, after the Grain SA trade association said that a harvest surplus of 4 million tonnes from this year’s harvest had left many small farmers facing bankruptcy. The DA said that “The ban was imposed when world maize stocks were dwindling and there was fear of food security being compromised. However, the excess produced means that the provisions needed for food security is no longer a real fear.”

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