by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 27, 2020 | General Comments
On 26 March 2020, I sat down with good folks at SABC to discuss my new book – FINDING COMMON GROUND. The interview aired earlier today. To view the 10 minutes long discussion about the book on YouTube, click here. South Africa is on 21-days lockdown, but you can...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 25, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
In times of uncertainty, as we are in during COVID-19 and a 21-days lockdown in South Africa, any unusual rise in prices of goods which society relies on the most can be discomforting. This is particularly the case with South Africa’s staple white maize prices, which...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 23, 2020 | Agricultural Production
I have been thinking a bit about what COVID-19 means for South Africa’s agriculture and food supplies. For my initial attempt in answering this question — download a paper I worked on today here. Follow me on Twitter (@WandileSihlobo). E-mail:...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 21, 2020 | General Comments
My publisher, Pan Macmillan, has informed me the book – Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity & Agriculture — is now available in some bookstores. You can contact your local book store to check if they’ve received their supplies. We will surely have it...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 19, 2020 | Agricultural Production
This essay first appeared on Business Day, March 18, 2020 The outbreak of Covid-19 will change the way we live our lives, without exception. The virus has raised serious concerns in society, ranging from health safety and economic conditions to essential food...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 18, 2020 | Agricultural Production
The data released this morning by Statistics South Africa shows that the country’s food price inflation accelerated to 4.2% y/y in February 2020, from 3.7% y/y in the previous month. This uptick was mainly underpinned by relative price rises of meat; milk, eggs and...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 17, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
In normal times, we would be rejoicing with citrus farmers this year. Southern Africa could have a record 143.3 million cartons of citrus fruit for the export market this year, according to data from the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa. This is up by...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 12, 2020 | Agricultural Production
Amid the news flow of the coronavirus, which we have also contributed to (see here), there have been some positive developments on South Africa’s maize production front. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised its estimate for South Africa’s...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 10, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
With only a week after the first case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was confirmed in South Africa (and two more cases since then), the fear of a spread of the virus is changing consumer behaviour and demand patterns. Anecdotally, over the weekend we noticed a...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Mar 6, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
Written for and first published in Business Day on 03 March 2020 There is a strong sense of unease in the world right now. The coronavirus outbreak in China is fast spreading across Asia and other regions, and the health implications present risks for global value...
