Baking

Bread is the second most important supplier of energy (kilojoules) in the South African diet after maize products. Apart from bread, bakers also produce other products like biscuits, pies and pizzas.

National strategy and government contact
Associations involved
Training and research
Companies involved
Websites and publications

Local business environment

South Africa manufactured 3 405 916 tons of wheaten products in the year August 2019-July 2020. SA imported a further 32 715 tons and exported 28 412 tons (SAGIS, 2020).

South Africa’s bread basket in the year August 2019 to July 2020 comprised of 48,3% white bread, 50,5% brown bread, 1,1% wholewheat, with a negligible percentage “other”. The units numbered 1 148 589 572 loaves white bread; 1 201 559 883 loaves brown bread; and 26 970 287 loaves wholewheat bread (SAGIS, 2020). This excludes bread baked in the non-commercial sector.

South Africa consumes about 2.4 billion breads per annum or 3.5 million Metric Tons (MT) of wheat and is dependent on imports to meet local demand. More than 80 percent of wheat imports into South Africa enter through the Durban port annually, which caused concern when the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal broke out (USDA, 2021).

Source: SAGIS Wheat Forum 23 September 2020 presentation; USDA report “Impact of the Ongoing Civil Unrest in South Africa on Food and the Agricultural Sector

National strategy and government contact

Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) www.dalrrd.gov.za

• Find the link to the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, 1996 (Act no. 47 of 1996) , R 884 , Establishment of Statutory Measure in respect of Maize Products and Wheaten Products at www.sacb.co.za and/or www.sagis.org.za.
• Find the regulations relating to the grading, packing and marking of bread wheat intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa (under the Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990) here.
• The document “Guidelines on key requirements for governments markets – bread, eggs and dairy products” can be found on the Directorate Marketing’s web pages on www.dalrrd.gov.za or click here.

Department of Health www.health.gov.za

• White and brown bread should be fortified in accordance with the Regulation relating to the fortification of certain foodstuffs, R.7634 of 7 April 2003, under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics & Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972. Find it here.

Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) www.thedti.gov.za

• The Trade Metrology Act of 1973 – Requirements for Bread.

National Regulator for Compulsory Specification (NRCS) Tel: 0800 21 47 19 www.nrcs.org.za

• The NRCS is mandated to regulate products on behalf of government such as vehicle components and others in the interest of public safety and to ensure fair trade. It also regulates all types of perishable goods. This includes the Trade Metrology Act of 1973.

Associations involved

South African Chamber of Baking Tel: 012 663 1600 www.sacb.co.za

Also of relevance:

• Agbiz Grain www.agbizgrain.co.za
• Bread Baking Association of South Africa (BBASA) Tel: 087 813 2101 www.breadbakingsa.com Financial, Legal and Business Development Services to small, medium and micro enterprises.
• Cereal Science and Technology – SA (CST – SA) www.cerealsa.co.za
• National Chamber of Milling (NCM) www.grainmilling.org.za
• South African Grain Laboratory (SAGL) www.sagl.co.za
• South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) www.sagis.org.za
• Winter Cereals Trust www.wintercerealtrust.co.za

Training and research

• Agricultural Colleges like Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development Institute (TARDI), linked to the provincial departments of Agriculture, do short courses in baking. Find the contact details on the “Agricultural education and training” page.
• Bakery and Food Technology Incubator of South Africa Tel: 012 346 6020
• DGRV Bakery Training Centre Tel: 012 346 6020 / 083 629 8326 www.dgrv.co.za The DGRV, the national apex organisation and top-level auditing federation of the German co-operative sector, runs a model-bakery where a qualified master baker offers basic and advanced training in baking and confectionary.
• FoodBev Tel: 011 253 7300 www.foodbev.co.za FoodBev is the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) responsible for facilitating education and training in the food and beverages manufacturing sector. Of relevance to this chapter is FoodBev’s Baking, Cereals, Confectionary and Snacks Chamber.
• Rich Products Corporation Tel: 011 429 4000 www.richs.com A centre which combines a state-of-the-art research and development centre and a bakery training school was opened in 2009.
• Read about the SACB’s Certificate in the Theory of Breadmaking and Certificate in the Basics of Breadmaking at www.sacb.co.za.
• Southern African Grain Laboratory (SAGL) Tel: 012 807 4019 www.sagl.co.za SAGL is a quality analyses laboratory and has ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. It offers a variety of quality analyses on grains and oilseeds. The SAGL provide courses in laboratory training for both wheat (flour) and maize (meal) analyses.
• Find instructional baking videos on www.supremeflour.co.za. Supreme Flour has its own in-house Baking Academy
• University of the Free State Department of Microbial, Biochemical & Food Biotechnology Prof G Osthoff Tel: 051 401 2216 Osthoffg [at] ufs.ac.za

Companies involved

Find the membership list on www.sacb.co.za. Also find the buyers guide at www.supermarket.co.za.

Websites and publications

Visit the websites listed earlier on this page.

• Find the annual Wheat Market Value Chain Profile on the DALRRD Directorate Marketing’s web pages at www.dalrrd.gov.za. 
• For wheat related research documents and projects, contact the Winter Cereal Trust. Call 012 663 1600 or visit www.wintercerealtrust.co.za.
• Consult the Baker SA website at www.bakersa.co.za for articles, news and recipes.
• Bathie, G. 2000. Baking for Profit: Starting a small bakery. Abe Books. Available at http://developmentbookshop.com/food-processing-and-packaging