by Wandile Sihlobo | Jun 6, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has brought uncertainty to global trade because of disruptions in supply chains and weakening demand. South Africa’s agricultural sector, which is export-oriented, is one of the sectors I feared would be disrupted by the pandemic. So...
by Wandile Sihlobo | May 21, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
Essay by Wandile Sihlobo and Tinashe Kapuya[i] As countries continue to implement “risk-adjusted” responses to COVID-19 and global leaders and analysts alike continue to assess the evolving implications of the pandemic on global markets. What makes COVID-19 unique is...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Apr 23, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
We have previously warned of the restrictions placed by countries on agricultural commodity exports, specifically rice and wheat. The concern was that restrictions in the world’s larger supplier markets would inevitably result in drastic price increases of the...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Apr 16, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
This essay first appeared on Business Day, April 14, 2020 The potential rise in oil prices and weak demand for SA’s agricultural exports from most regions are two additional challenges for the agricultural sector that are spinning off the COVID-19 pandemic. Global oil...
by Wandile Sihlobo | Apr 9, 2020 | Agricultural Trade
Regular readers of this blog would know that I write often. But the frequency over the past few weeks has reduced somewhat because of the increased demand for time in this unusual time of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the sake of consistency and ensuring that I cover key...
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...
