About Us

Red Meat Industry Forum of South Africa

Key purpose of the Red Meat Industry Forum:

To represent the Red Meat Industry
To negotiate for an enabling regulatory environment
To formulate industry policy
To facilitate compliance to legislation
To appoint a Compliance Committee
To address non-compliance to industry related legislation
To decide on industry strategy
To guide and monitor progress of strategy
To apply for statutory levy and measures

To identify and appoint service providers to deliver on functions
To approve service provider business plans and budgets and allocate funds to service providers
To appoint a Levy Committee to monitor service provider performance and verify that allocated levy funds have been spent according to budgets and as per annual audits
To liaise with all industry and state structures
To nominate industry trustees to the Meat Industry Trusts
To nominate directors to the Meat Statutory Measure Services Board and
To nominate representatives to the Red Meat Research and Development structures

Mutually agreed essential functions to maintain a viable Red Meat Industry:

Compliance to Legislation
Consumer Assurance
Consumer Communication and Education
Industry and International Liaison
Production Development
Red Meat Research and Development and
Transformation in the Developing Sector

Focus areas of the Red Meat Industry:

Meat safety monitoring
Independent meat hygiene inspection
National abattoir hygiene evaluation system
Residue monitoring
Voluntary meat classification and marking
Meat classification coordination
Utilization of the carcass and innovative product improvement
Meat labelling

Meat import product verification and monitoring
Compliance to legislation
Voluntary and compulsory standards for meat and meat products
Good management practices
Livestock health and international livestock health rating
Individual livestock identification, movement control and traceability
Bio-security, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures
International trade affecting the red meat industry
Development, training and mentorship to ensure a sustainable red meat industry
Transformation, mentorship and commercial integration of the developing sector
Consumer education emphasizing nutritional and health attributes of safe red meat which is produced in a sustainable manner
Consumer education emphasizing the benefits of leather
Re-entrenching the butcher as final custodian of red meat products
Animal welfare
Research and development and
Information gathering and dissemination

Historical Funding

The Red Meat Industry determined a need for the continuation of a number of essential functions previously executed by the now disbanded Meat Board. In the period following 1994 certain of these functions were executed by the South African Meat Industry Company funded by the Meat Industry Trust and then later some of the major industry role player organizations agreed to fund these functions on a Rand to Rand basis with the Meat Industry Trust. This funding method was an interim measure and not sustainable in the long run.

Statutory Levies and Measures

In March 2005 the Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF) submitted an application for the introduction of a Proportional Transaction statutory levy in terms of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, 1996 (Act Nr. 47 of 1996) as amended (the MAP Act). In order to enhance the efficiency of levy administration and information collection, two ancillary statutory measures, namely registration and information collection, and the keeping and rendering of records and returns were also requested. The levy and measures are enforceable within the boundaries of the Republic of South African and to red meat, red meat products, processed pork imported into South Africa and livestock exported from South Africa.

The levy notices were published on 5 August 2005 and came into effect on 5 November 2005 for a 2 year period. Industry raised certain queries to gain clarity and as a result submitted an application to amend the levy notices. The amended notices were published on 12 January 2007.

A similar levy application was submitted in June 2007 for a Proportional Transaction statutory levy for a 3 year period and the levy notices were published on 29 October 2007 to announce the second levy period ending on 4 November 2010.

The mutually agreed essential industry functions have been funded by a statutory levy collected and managed on behalf of the Red Meat Industry by the Meat Statutory Measure Services. During the latter part of 2008 the RMIF reviewed the functions and re-allocated the funding towards the essential functions.

The third levy period application was submitted in the beginning of June 2010 for a 4 year period. The levy notices were published on 11 November 2010 and the 3rd levy period expired on 4 November 2014.

The RMIF submitted a new application to the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) on 24 April 2014 applying for another Proportional Transaction statutory levy for a 4 year period and in response the NAMC published the application for the continuation of statutory levies for the Red Meat Industry as Notice 362 of 2014 in the Government Gazette on 23 May 2014. The NAMC requested directly affected parties to submit comments on or before 6 June 2014.

On 11 November 2014, The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries approved the introduction of the proposed statutory measures (statutory levies, registration and submission of records and returns) in the South African Red Meat Industry, for a period of four years to lapse on 4 November 2018 as per Government Gazette No. 38199 Vol.593 of 11 November 2014.

A two-year extension of the 4th statutory levy application was approved by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in August 2018. Government Gazette No 41839, Vol846 dated 17 August 2018

The Minister also approved that the levy income be sent as follows, namely that –

70% of the levy income is spent on generic functions relating to consumer assurance, consumer education, research and development, liaison and production development;
not more than 10% on administration costs; and
at least 20% on transformation (development of emerging farmers and other role-players in line with the NAMC’s new guidelines on transformation). The new transformation guidelines entail inter alia that the administrator of the statutory measures submit on an annual basis, three months before their financial year end a business plan regarding their transformation activities envisaged for that financial year.

Furthermore, that the statutory measures be valid for a period of four years subject to the following conditions:

that the statutory levies be audited by the Auditor General, with the percentage allocated towards transformation clearly indicated;
that surplus funds should not form part of the assets of the administrator of statutory levies and be utilized with the approval of the Minister after the lapsing of the levy (after four years);
that levies be accounted for, in a manner and to the extent acceptable to the Auditor General, separately from any other funds or assets under the control of the levy administrator;
that the administrator of statutory measures maintains a database of black role-players and their market share in order to monitor the progress of transformation in the red meat industry; and
that the NAMC has observer status on the Board of the RMIF to ensure compliance with the original intent of the application.

Meat Statutory Measure Services

Meat Statutory Measure Services (MSMS) is an organization incorporated under section 21 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No.71 of 2008) and was established on 16 August 2007 to manage the administration and enforcement of the red meat Levy Notices. The affairs are managed by a Board of Directors of 5 members elected by the 13 nationally representative role-player organizations of the RMIF. The key purpose of MSMS is to serve, protect and promote the interests of all designated levy payers and the nationally representative role-player organizations of the RMIF to maintain a viable red meat industry.

MSMS contracted a private company, Red Meat Levy Administration (Pty) Ltd. (RMLA) to execute the administrative component entailed in the above functions.

It is the responsibility of MSMS to contract the Levy Administrator, to enforce compliance to the levy and other relevant legislation, to appoint auditors and to address industry non-compliance to legislative matters.

Board of Directors

The MSMS Directors are:

Georg Frederick Southey
Mculami Mahanjana
Gerhardus Munnik Schutte and
Dewald Olivier

Levy Administrator

In order to ensure the cost effective, transparent and correct application of levy funding, the MSMS appointed Red Meat Levy Administration (Pty) Ltd. (RMLA) to oversee the collection and administration of the levy process. Industry service providers were appointed by the RMIF on submission of approved business plans and budgets each to execute one or more of the mutually agreed essential functions.

It is the responsibility of RMLA to receive and administer agreed upon budgets from the RMIF, to register all levy payers, to collect levies according to levy notices, to report and act against delinquent levy payers according to the relevant articles of the MAP Act as amended, to receive instructions from MSMS, to keep accurate financial statements, to submit audited annual financial statements to the Auditor General, to administer a centralised information system, to apply an optimum cash flow management system; and RMLA is authorized to outsource one or more of its obligations to one or more service providers on the condition that such service provider(s) shall at all times act as agent(s) of RMLA and be accountable directly to RMLA.

RMLA has contracted the SAMIC coordinators appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as levy inspectors to assist in enforcing the levy collection at certain collection points.

Management Committee, Compliance and Levy & Audit Committees

The Management Committee (MANCO) is a committee of the Red Meat Industry Forum and deals with operational activities and policies of the Forum. The Compliance and Levy & Audit Committees are appointed by the Forum as per pages 7 and 8 of the latest Levy Application. The Management, Compliance and Levy & Audit Committees are elected during the Annual General Meeting each year. The Levy & Audit Committee is tasked to interrogate levy payments, levy audit certificates etc. on behalf of the Forum, whilst the Compliance Committee is tasked to address non-compliance to industry related legislation. The Levy & Audit and Compliance Committees provide regular feedback to quarterly MANCO and Council meetings.

Levy Imposition Mechanism

It has been requested that a levy be imposed on each category of the designated livestock and red meat products as follows:

Cattle

(i) R6.24 per head deducted and retained from the selling price of each animal by any buyer of such animal. In the event of an animal not reaching the place of slaughter the levy shall be payable by the buyer to the Levy Administrator;

(ii) R10.40 per head payable by the owner at slaughter, to the abattoir who slaughters such animal, the abattoir shall be liable to collect such levy from the owner and pay it over to the Levy Administrator;

(iii) R659 per year payable by each meat trader outlet to the Levy Administrator;

(iv) R1160 per container or consignment of red meat or red meat products imported is payable by the importer to the Levy Administrator prior to issuing of an import permit. The levy receipt number is submitted with the import permit application to the issuing officer;

(v) R10.40 per head exported live is payable by the exporter to the Levy Administrator;

(vi) 0.102% of the commission earned by the livestock agent is payable by the livestock agent to the Levy Administrator;

(vii) 2.01c per kg for every processed hide locally produced is payable by the processor to the Levy Administrator. 2.01c per kg will also be collected for every unprocessed hide exported payable by the exporter to the Levy Administrator.

Sheep and Goats

(i) R1.34 per head deducted and retained from the selling price of each animal by any buyer of such animal. In the event of an animal not reaching the place of slaughter the levy shall be payable by the buyer to the Levy Administrator;

(ii) R2.02 per head payable by the owner at slaughter, to the abattoir who slaughters such animal, the abattoir shall be liable to collect such levy from the owner and pay it over to the Levy Administrator;

(iii) R659 per year payable by each meat trader outlet to the Levy Administrator;

(v) R2.02 per head exported live is payable by the exporter to the Levy Administrator;

(vi) 0.102% of the commission earned by the livestock agent is payable by the livestock agent to the Levy Administrator;

(vii) 2.01c per kg for every processed skin locally produced is payable by the processor to the Levy Administrator. 2.01c per kg will also be collected for every unprocessed skin exported payable by the exporter to the Levy Administrator.

Processors

2.01c per kg of red meat, red meat products and processed pork purchased by registered processors for processing is payable to the Levy Administrator.

Notes:

The R659 per year payable by each meat trader outlet relates to each outlet per se, and is not applicable per meat trader outlet per specie; and
A 3 % collection fee can be deducted from the collected levies by the abattoir before the levies are paid over to the Levy Administrator.

2 Year Extension Period

Levy Notices and supporting Service Provider Business Plans and Budgets

Government Gazette No 41839, Vol846 dated 17 August 2018

Records-and-returns-0180817-GGN-41839-00845-01

Registration of role-players in the Red Meat Industry (2)

RMRD SA Levy Application (2018 – 2020) -Final

RMIF Liaison & Compliance Business Plan & Budget 2018-2020

RMAA Business plan for training of black-owned abattoirs

RMAA CONSUMER ASSURANCE – Standard Setting Business Plan

RED MEAT TRANSFORMATION PLAN FOR 2018-2020

NLSS_PROJECT CONCEPT DOCUMENT -Levy – Fed

LWCC Bussiness plan_July2017