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 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 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...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Feb 20, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
This note is a bit delayed. I had to attend a conference this morning. Here is a Twitter feed for those keen to see what went down. Back to business! It is Thursday – a grain trade day. The South African Grain Information Services (SAGIS) releases the country’s grain...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Feb 16, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
After reaching a record level of US10.6 billion in 2018, South Africa’s agricultural exports fell by 8% year-on-year (y/y) in 2019 to US$9.8 billion. This, however, was unsurprising as agricultural production data for 2019 showed a notable decline in a number of...
