The Xchange Platform Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo

South Africa's agricultural export growth cooled off in the second quarter of 2024

Loading player...
After the sharp increase in the first quarter of 2024, South Africa's agricultural exports fell slightly on a year-on-year (y/y) basis in the second quarter. According to data from Trade Map, the country's agricultural exports were at US$3.37bn in the second quarter, a 0,1% decline relative to the same period last year.

This comes after growth of 6% y/y in the first quarter of the year. The slight decrease in the second quarter reflects the moderation in the prices of some agricultural products and the decline in the volumes.

The top exported products by value include citrus, apples and pears, maize, wine, dates, pineapples, avocados, sugar, grapes, fruit juices, nuts, and wool.
Notably, while the value of the exports is down mildly from the second quarter of 2023, the efficiency at the ports this year was arguably much better than what the stakeholders experienced in 2023.

This again shows that the decline in export value is largely due to lower prices of some commodities and a decline in volumes after a challenging domestic production environment, specifically in grains and oilseed.
Listen to the podcast for more details.

Podcast production by Richard Humphries, and Sam Mkokeli

My writing on agricultural economic matters is available on my blog: https://wandilesihlobo.com/
2 Sep English South Africa Investing · Food

Other recent episodes

SA sees robust agricultural exports

I am starting to believe that South Africa’s 2024 agricultural exports may reach a new record high and surpass the 2023 record level of US$13, 2 billion. The better prices and output in various fruits, red meat, wool, and wine will be the major driver of the improvement in exports…
13 Dec 13 min

There is rising optimism in South Africa’s farming sector

We continue to observe the rising optimism in South Africa’s farming and agribusiness sectors. For example, the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI), a sentiment indicator in the sector, increased by 10 points from Q3 to 58 in Q4. This is the second consecutive improvement, placing the ACI at its highest…
9 Dec 15 min

South Africa eases a path for possible maize imports from the US

South Africa’s decision to ease possible maize imports from the U.S. is not necessarily bad. It is a “safety option” in recognition that our white maize supplies are tight. We also face strong demand from broader Southern Africa, whose maize production is down massively because of the drought earlier this…
1 Dec 16 min

The easing agricultural trade friction in SACU is crucial

The Southern African region has experienced agricultural trade friction in the past few years. Namibia and Botswana placed a ban on the imports of South African vegetables and citrus. Simply put, the rationale of both Namibia and Botswana was that the import ban ensures that their domestic producers are not…
24 Nov 12 min

SA's agricultural employment improves

While the 2023-24 mid-summer drought has been the central theme of the downbeat performance of South Africa's agriculture this year, we see a welcome positive change in the jobs data. Statistics South Africa data show that primary agriculture employment improved by 4% from the previous quarter to 935k jobs in…
19 Nov 12 min
All episodes