South Africa's agribusiness should keep a close eye on the rest of Africa

Published Mar 30, 2023

Tridge summary

The article emphasizes the importance of South Africa's agricultural exports, with a significant focus on the African continent, which makes up 37% of the country's total agricultural exports. The main exports to the continent include maize, apples, wheat, animal feed, prepared foods, wine, fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) are key regions for South Africa's export growth. The article also discusses the potential impact of weather conditions and higher fertilizer prices on crop yields in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Tanzania, and the possibility of South Africa exporting maize to these countries in the 2023/24 marketing year. Additionally, it mentions the potential increase in Kenya's maize imports and the legal challenges facing the importation of genetically modified maize in the country. The article stresses the need for South Africa to monitor the African market closely and increase supplies where possible, and for the South African agribusiness community and government to maintain engagement with their African counterparts to address trade concerns and opportunities.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Although we continue to argue that South Africa should expand its agricultural export markets to new frontiers such as India, China, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea, amongst others, the export drive should not be at the expense of the existing markets. We should actively engage with existing markets to stimulate the continued expansion of South African agricultural exports. The engagement should focus on the EU and Asia, both crucial regions for export growth, and the rest of the African continent. The African continent remains the largest export market for South Africa's agriculture. In the record agricultural exports of US$12,8 billion in 2022, the African continent accounted for 37%. Importantly, this was not an anomaly. The continent has accounted, on average, for 38% of South Africa's agricultural exports by value per annum over the past five years. Unlike the other regions South Africa exports to, where the composition of products is predominantly fruits, beef, ...

Source: Agbiz