S. Africa Ties U.S. Sanctions to Grain Deals : Foreign Minister Calls Senators, Threatens to End Purchases

South African Foreign Minister Roelof F. (Pik) Botha, in telephone calls to several senators, threatened Wednesday to immediately halt his country’s purchases of American grain if, as expected, Congress enacts sanctions against the Pretoria government.

Botha also threatened to block all U.S. grain shipments--largely American aid intended for famine relief--to neighboring countries that depend on South Africa’s transport system.

Botha said later in a statement in Pretoria that he had called “a number of U.S. senators” to warn them of the “catastrophic consequences for more than 60 million people” if the Senate overrides President Reagan’s veto of the anti-apartheid sanctions today.

“I informed them that, if the Senate should reverse President Reagan’s veto and legalize the ban on the export of South African agricultural products . . . then South Africa would purchase no grain from the United States,” Botha said.

And, “it would not only be South Africa that would not buy any grain from the United States,” Botha continued. “All its neighbors which are dependent on the South African transport system will also no longer be able to purchase grain from the United States.”

This was “no threat,” he said, “but if South African farmers can no longer sell this product on the U.S. market, the South African government will have no choice but to prohibit the purchase of American grain.”

Foreign Intrusion Decried

Supporters of the sanctions bill quickly decried the South African lobbying effort as an improper foreign intrusion into the U.S. legislative process and criticized conservative Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) for his role in arranging the telephone calls.

“I believe that all Americans and especially American farmers will condemn foreign bribery and intimidation to change a vote in the United States Senate,” declared Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “It is an affront to the decency of the American people.”

It is not known whether the effort has the support of the Reagan Administration. Backers of the sanctions package were believed already to have the necessary two-thirds majority to override Reagan’s veto in a vote on the sanctions today in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Among those Botha phoned were Sen. Edward Zorinsky (D-Neb.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).

Zorinsky, who said that he is still undecided about how he will vote on the override issue, said that Botha “emphasized and re-emphasized” that the Pretoria government intends immediately to retaliate against sanctions by cutting off U.S. shipments of grain to South Africa and to neighboring countries whose shipments go through South Africa.

He noted that a South African embargo against U.S. grain shipments would be a significant blow to American farmers at a time when they already are suffering from severe economic problems. The Agriculture Department estimates that the South Africans have purchased 156,000 metric tons of grain from the United States during the 12 months that ended in June.

The telephone calls were believed to be part of a fierce lobbying drive being mounted by the most conservative members of the Senate led by Helms.

Zorinsky said it was Helms who came to him on the floor of the Senate and informed him that there was a transatlantic call waiting for him in the cloakroom. After Zorinsky finished talking to Botha, Helms handed the receiver to Grassley. Although Grassley was unavailable for comment, he is believed to have heard the same pitch from Botha.

Lugar Raps Helms

Lugar described Helms’ role in the affair as “inappropriate” and added: “I find this entire activity to be despicable.”

Helms acknowledged his role as a “middleman” in the affair. “I am sort of a middleman between the American farmer and Dick Lugar and Ted Kennedy--an odd couple if I ever saw one,” he said, referring to Lugar’s decision to join with liberals in opposing the President.

Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, also condemned the South African government for making such a threat.

She noted that South Africa also has been promising to increase its grain purchases from the United States to about 400,000 tons in the coming year from the past year’s 156,000 tons if the sanctions are not imposed. Since 1983, South African agricultural purchases had averaged about $265 million, but that was scheduled to more than double next year with the additional grain.

The South African government already has cut off grain purchases from Canada and Australia in retaliation for sanctions imposed by those two countries.

World Surplus

With wheat and other grain a surplus commodity on world markets, South Africa apparently believes it will have little difficulty finding other suppliers, such as France, and would always be able to buy through international grain dealers.

Of all the sanctions included in the U.S. legislation, Botha described the ban on American purchases of South African agricultural products, largely fruit, as perhaps the most damaging because of its potential impact on black farm workers here.

In his statement, Botha said he had consulted with South Africa’s agriculture minister, Greyling Wentzel, to confirm the government’s intended action before telephoning Zorinsky, Grassley and other senators from grain-growing states.

Meanwhile, supporters of the sanctions acknowledged that they were facing a stiff lobbying drive by those who back the President. But they insisted that the momentum was in their favor.

An aide to Assistant Minority Leader Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), who keeps track of votes in the Senate for the Democrats, said Wednesday that nine senators are still undecided. He added that 68 senators have pledged to vote in favor of the override, while 23 senators are committed to support the President’s veto.

The House already has voted to override the veto. If all members of the Senate are present, 67 votes would be needed to override.

The sanctions bill that Reagan vetoed would ban all new investment and all new bank loans to South Africa, bar the import of South African steel, iron, coal, uranium, textiles and agricultural products and end U.S. landing rights for South African aircraft.

Sara Fritz reported from Washington and Michael Parks from Pretoria.