South Africa

The agriculture sector has weathered the storm over the past few years, coping with drought and policy uncertainty, while income and employment have remained stable.

The closing of countries’ borders in an attempt to contain the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is already greatly affecting the local ecotourism sector.

The announcement on Thursday by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) monetary policy committee of a 100-basis-point cut, or one percentage point, in the repo rate from 6,25% to 5,25%, was positive news for farmers.

Stakeholders in the South African fruit industry have expressed concern about whether there will be sufficient containers to ship produce to various export destinations around the world, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Southern Africa is expected to export a record 143,3 million cartons of citrus fruit to more than 100 countries in 2020.

While the latest tariffs on imported frozen chicken published in the Government Gazette have been welcomed by key stakeholders in South Africa’s poultry value chain, they are taking a wait-and-see approach to establish just how effective these tariffs would be in achieving their intended purpose.

One of the highlights on the South African agricultural calendar, the annual Royal Agricultural Show in Pietermaritzburg, has been cancelled.

The current rolling blackouts by power utility Eskom have struck the Western Cape in the midst of a critical time for the fruit industry.

The higher crop production forecast for the coming season has resulted in a rise in combine harvester sales during February, which could mean farmers are preparing for a good harvesting season.

With approximately 65% of South Africa’s commercial pig herd now officially registered with the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation’s (SAPPO) compartmentalisation system, the local commercial herd is now one of the healthiest in the world.

Maize farmers have been urged to scout for Diplodia maize rot amongst their crops.

The drop in fuel prices that came into effect on Wednesday as a result of lower Brent crude oil prices, on the back of the fast-spreading coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak across the world, will provide some relief for farmers.

Any amendments to Section 25 of South Africa’s Constitution needed to prioritise the protection of the land rights of farm dwellers and those living on traditional authority lands.

South Africa’s agriculture sector has experienced two consecutive years of recession due, in large part, to the widespread drought on the production of field and certain horticulture crops.

The decision by the Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni to propose no major tax increases in the 2020 National Budget Speech has been welcomed by role players in South Africa’s agriculture sector.

The risk posed by failures and inefficiencies at South Africa’s main ports to the country’s economy, particularly the damage this was doing to export competitiveness, was acknowledged in the Budget Review, tabled by National Treasury alongside the 2020 Budget that was delivered by Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni in Parliament on Wednesday.

Despite the announcement of real spending cuts during the tabling of the 2020 Budget by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in Parliament on Wednesday, South Africa was not “in an austerity situation”.

Mere weeks after Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) announced that it would be mothballing its Darnall Sugar Mill indefinitely, Illovo Sugar South Africa (ISSA) announced that it would be suspending operations at its Umzimkulu Sugar Mill, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, for the 2020/2021 season starting on 1 April.

The negative impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China on the global agriculture sector, including that of South Africa, is multifaceted, according to Joseph Kau, agricultural economist at the Agricultural Research Council.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has been urged to ensure the correct strategies are in place to make the implementation of any announcements made during the 2020/2021 National Budget speech feasible.