by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 18, 2019 | Agricultural Production
My good friend, Anthony Clark, of @SmallTalkDaily Research, has sent a wonderful piece this morning, essentially assessing what the slow U.S. maize and soybean plantings mean for the South African food companies that use these commodities. He believes that the uptick...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 15, 2019 | Agricultural Production
Over 20 millimetres of rainfall received last week in the Western Cape has brought an end to weeks of dryness in the Southern Cape and Overberg regions which had left farmers with no choice but to pause planting. With more than 90% of the intended area for all winter...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 13, 2019 | Agricultural Production
We are currently witnessing the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector, both on the local and global fronts. These effects will probably intensify in future. Last week, Stats SA presented a gloomier-than-expected picture of the SA agricultural economy,...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 10, 2019 | Agricultural Production
When the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its preliminary estimates for the 2019/20 global grains and oilseeds production, the sentiment in the global agricultural market was that there will be large food supplies, and most analysts focused on...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 9, 2019 | Agricultural Production
The agricultural economy, by nature, is wobbly relative to other sectors of the economy as its fortunes are largely driven by a factor beyond the control of humankind – the weather. And in the recent past weather conditions have increasingly been a challenge as...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 4, 2019 | Agricultural Production
Without trying to sweet talk Zimbabwe — after all, they have big economic problems to contemplate on – it is worth noting that there are some positive developments in their agricultural sector this year. Zimbabwe’s sugar industry has remained resilient in the...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 3, 2019 | Food Security
While the discussion about the African swine fever has largely focused on China, the likes of Vietnam are also reeling from its effects. The Vietnamese authorities are now asking farmers to diversify away from pork to other livestock – a difficult task, I imagine, for...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 1, 2019 | Agricultural Trade
I have written a bit about SA’s agricultural trade success after 2018 exports reached a record level of $10.6bn. I have also discussed the need for expansion of labour-intensive and globally sought-after agricultural products such as horticultural products and...
by Wandile Sihlobo | May 30, 2019 | Agricultural Trade
If I do not write about South Africa’s first quarter of 2019 agricultural trade figures, one would assume that there have been limited positive developments in this sector as the past few months have been clouded by unwelcoming news. These varied from tough production...
by Wandile Sihlobo | May 26, 2019 | Agricultural Trade
I have written a bit about South Africa’s agricultural trade success, and the need for expansion of labour-intensive and globally sought-after agricultural products such as horticulture products, and livestock, amongst other products, in the underutilised land in the...
