by Wandile Sihlobo | Sep 18, 2019 | Food Security
I didn’t get to write a note on South Africa’s food price inflation data, which accelerated to 3.8% y/y in August 2019, from 3.0% y/y in July. I was in Lichtenburg, North West sharing thoughts with farmers and agribusiness there. The mood was generally positive, but...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Sep 17, 2019 | Agricultural Trade
Farmer’s Weekly carried an article noting South African farmers’ concern that Botswana’s ambitions to export live cattle which could end up in South Africa, would add pressure on prices. This is an understandable concern given that the South African beef industry has...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Sep 16, 2019 | Agricultural Production
It’s not been a good year for South Africa’s agricultural sector. Production has been down thanks to the dry spell, but the weatherman sees plenty of rain on the horizon. Statistics South Africa released second-quarter figures in September which showed seasonally...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Sep 14, 2019 | Agricultural Production
If there is one crop that South Africa has managed to lift its production in the recent past it is – soybeans. Its production has grown significantly since the dawn of democracy, from 67 700 tonnes in the 1993/94 production season to 1.6 million tonnes in 2017/18....
by Wandile Sihlobo | Sep 12, 2019 | Agricultural Production
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also joined the party in forecasting a potentially big maize harvest for South Africa in 2019/20 season. The agency placed its estimate at 14.0 million tonnes, which would be a notable recovery from the current season’s crop of...
