South Africa

Limited marketing opportunities for secondary fruit can be a big challenge for table grape producers this season, according to Francois Rossouw, managing director of Mooigezicht Estates near De Doorns.

The strong demand for avocados is expected to keep prices stable during 2021 as global players start entering the Asian market. In the past, demand for avocados was driven by consumers in the US and EU, but Asia was fast catching up.

Although chicken and eggs are popular, lower-cost protein sources for many South African consumers, widespread unemployment and other COVID-19-related economic challenges will pose a major threat to demand in 2021.

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza recently gazetted the new statutory citrus export levy for 2021, which has been welcomed by the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA).

A recent ruling in the South African Land Claims Court (SALCC) has opened a door for landowners to successfully achieve court orders compelling farm dwellers to reduce their livestock numbers on overstocked land.

The mango harvest is in full swing, and an increase in volume on the market has led to pressure on prices.

During coming months, South African consumers will be educated about and encouraged to consume more locally manufactured sugar and sugar products.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between South Africa and China in December 2020, offers a major opportunity for South African fruit exports to China.

A small group of residents of traditional authority lands in KwaZulu-Natal, together with supporting non-governmental organisations, recently jointly submitted an application to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to challenge the Ingonyama Trust Board’s (ITB) decision to make all residents of these lands sign lease agreements.

The executive board of the International Society for the Study of Rural Crime (ISSRC) recently bestowed the prestigious Joseph F. Donnermeyer New Scholar Award on Dr Willem Lombard, an agricultural economist at the University of the Free State.

Tongaat Hulett’s ailing fortunes in recent years appear to be on a trajectory of recovery, judging by its recently released interim financial results for the first half-year ended 30 September 2020 (H1 2020).

The wine industry has expressed relief that the ban on wine sales by wine cellars on Sundays has been lifted, reversing regulations published in the Government Gazette on 15 December, prohibiting wine tastings and sales on Sundays.

The Competition Commission’s (CompCom) third essential food pricing monitoring report has found that retail food prices have not returned to normal, following increases during the initial ‘hard’ lockdown in South Africa to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

South African livestock producers need to vaccinate animals against insect-borne diseases such as lumpy skin disease, three-day stiff sickness, Rift Valley fever, and bluetongue disease as soon as possible.

Despite continuing to face legal actions aimed at achieving a permanent halt of shipboard livestock exports from South Africa, Kuwaiti company, Al Mawashi, has indicated that it is already planning another such shipment in the first quarter of 2021.

Companies and industry organisations in South Africa’s legal tobacco value chain have welcomed the recent judgement of the Western Cape High Court that found that government’s five-month COVID-19-related ban on the legal sale of tobacco products was unconstitutional and, therefore, unlawful.

Water resource management in South Africa is in crisis, and this may have serious implications for agriculture. This was according to Prof Anthony Turton of the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State.

Progress in the private prosecution of Thandi Modise, speaker of Parliament, for alleged animal cruelty on her North West farm is reportedly being hindered by “political agendas”.

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) announced recently that more than 75 000 subsistence producers would be supported with farming input vouchers.

Tractor sales increased significantly in November compared with the same period last year. The latest report released by the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA) indicated that 593 tractors were sold in November, up 39% on the 427 units sold during the same month last year.