Creator
Wandile Sihlobo is chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), author of Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture and visiting research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance.
Within the SACU region, there is supposed to be free movement of agricultural goods, with a few exceptions, including national security and when there are crop and animal diseases
We are working to expand the sector and ensure we provide high-quality products to new markets. It remains key that the sector’s “knowledge infrastructure” is up to date and,…
The benefits of lower grain prices, ample fruit and vegetable supplies, and potentially sideways meat prices will continue to be the major drivers of the deceleration in food…
The latest data for the third quarter shows that South Africa’s agricultural exports totalled US$4.7 billion, up from 13% from the same period a year ago
But the country may not keep the ban for long, because a shortfall of about 700,000 is expected later in the season
It is probably opportunistic trade for livestock feed
But we must still work to reduce Donald Trump’s 30% tariff and look to and maintain other markets
The rural economy should not be forgotten in South Africa’s economic growth agenda,
About half of South Africa’s maize was exported to Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea in the first 13 weeks of the 2025-26 marketing year
Concerns over poultry and red meat supplies should not have a bearing in the long term
These countries need to rethink the prohibitive tariffs they place on each other
Agriculture in the country is experiencing a recovery season for its grain and oilseed production, although some areas may have quality problems
South Africa’s food inflation rose to 4.4% in May but this is expected to be temporary
This forecast is based indications of good harvests in key producing countries such as the European Union, Russia, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom and India
The outbreak of animal disease is a concern but there’s good news from the field crops, horticulture and poultry sectors
Frequent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza and African swine fever suggest weakness in biosecurity controls and the effect of climate change
The country could return to being a net exporter of maize and the domestic prices to moderate, easing the general food price inflation
An increase in demand could see a record harvest of the oilseed this year
The country needs to retain existing trade partners, while seeking new ones, and delivering excellent products.
The recovery of crops bodes well for consumers as prices should come down
