South Africa

The government’s ban on the sale of legal tobacco products during the current national lockdown, which was put in place by Government as an urgent measure to slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease is South Africa, is likely to result in a dramatic spike in the illicit tobacco trade that reportedly already results in the South African fiscus losing over R8 billion a year in tax revenue.

The South African citrus industry is expected to export a record 143,3 million cartons of citrus fruit to more than 100 countries in 2020.

The ongoing decline of the rand against major international trading currencies is likely to affect local consumer prices of imported chicken even more than the recently announced tariff increases on imports for specific categories of this commodity.

The Crop Estimate’s Committee (CEC) has revised the expected commercial maize crop for 2020 up another 1,7% to over 14,8 million tons.

It is too early to speculate whether the suspected links between wildlife trade and consumption and the emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are resulting in any reductions in the illegal wildlife trade.

The avocado industry has not been spared the effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic.

Private-sector attorneys and advocates who are paid by the state to assess the merits of land claims, and where necessary, pursue these cases in the Land Claims Court, have been warned to no longer institute legal proceedings where there are clearly no prospects of success.

Today we start our 21-day national lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus virus (COVID-19) in South Africa.

The recent major decline in international crude oil prices is likely to have a significant impact on South Africa’s sugar value chain.

Following the recent announcement of a cut in South Africa’s repo rate, the agriculture sector can look forward to some relief on loan repayments.

Amid the devastating coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) outbreak, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) recently established an industry task team, under the auspices of agriculture minister Thoko Didiza, to manage this disaster.

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.