A South African state-appointed panel of experts today recommended that the government immediately suspend sales of land to foreigners.
"The panel recommends that a moratorium on the purchase and sale of South African land to non-citizens be imposed with immediate effect as an interim measure until appropriate legislation has been promulgated," the panel said in a report to Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza.
President Thabo Mbeki said two weeks ago that the government would regulate the conditions under which foreigners bought land.
Almost 12 years after the end of apartheid rule, most of South Africa's commercial farmland remains in the hands of the white minority. Fears have grown that a surge in foreign interest in South African property is pushing prices out of reach for many locals.