38 AGROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY Prices Almost all of the active ingredients required for the production of agricultural inputs in South Africa are imported. As such, fluctuations in international prices and exchange rates are critical factors, as they directly impact the cost structure of domestic agricultural inputs and, consequently, the pricing trends for grain production. Table 4 shows the international prices of the active ingredients of five herbicides used in maize. The stability in the exchange rate led to the trends seen in the international market being pulled directly through to the prices in rand terms. Sep 2024 Sep 2025 % change Rand/ton Rand/ton % Glyphosate (95%) 62 125 66 872 7,64% Acetochlor (92%) 57 450 45 082 -21,53% Atrazine (97%) 54 759 47 823 -12,67% Metolachlor (97%) 79 729 53 131 -33,36% Trifluralin (95%) 83 234 63 048 -24,25% Table 4: International herbicide prices in rand terms. Sep 2024 Sep 2025 % change Rand/ton Rand/ton % Imidacloprid (95%) 162 585 153 175 -5,79% Lambda-cyhalothrin (95%) 234 369 232 620 -0,75% Carbofuran (99%) 227 075 220 869 -2,73% Deltamethrin (98%) 843 292 836 997 -0,75% Table 5: International insecticide prices. Table 5 indicates international insecticide prices, which are used in maize production (rand terms). Annual meeting with the crop protection industry On 1 August 2025, Grain SA’s Production/Input Working Group met with CropLife SA, and the following issues were discussed: The rise of activism in South Africa and its impact on agriculture Actions that the CropLife SA industry association will be taking to address the rising risk Actions that Grower Associations can undertake to address the risk of rising activism How can Grain SA & CropLife SA collaborate to mitigate the assault on valuable plant protection tools and the resultant loss of said tools Status of backlog with office of the Registrar (Act 36 of 1947) Progress with derogation process – substances of concern PCO regulation for restricted agricultural remedies Support for empty pesticide collection and recycling programme Clear indications of active on labels of chemical agents – uniformity of a product through the season, colours of plugs Glyphosate aerial application International and local market trends of grain industry INPUT OVERVIEW
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