Triticale as an alternative to milling wheat: the case of the Western Cape Province, South Africa

[摘要] English: The decline in the profitability of milling wheat is amongst the challenges faced bywheat producers in South Africa. The decline in profitability is hampering the abilityof wheat producers to remain financially viable, and as a result, many producershave shifted their production focus to alternatives, which are believed to be moreprofitable. Producers in the Western Cape Province are, however, not that fortunatewith the resource endowments that limit their options. Additionally, no attention hasbeen given to the financial viability of alternatives for wheat production in theWestern Cape Province. Therefore, this study examined triticale as an alternativecrop. The financial viability of triticale, as compared with milling wheat, wasdetermined by using the Agricultural Products Requirements Optimising (APR_OPT)model, coupled with a budget analysis. Results from the APR_OPT model in theform of demand and successive prices were used as inputs in the budget analysis todetermine the financial viability of triticale, compared with milling wheat. Althoughtriticale reported a positive gross margin for the period under review, its financialviability compared with milling wheat will largely depend on the prices of maize andmilling wheat, respectively.

[发布机构] University of the Free State