SA sees robust agricultural exports

Loading player...
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 this year.

Already, South Africa's cumulative agricultural export value for the first three quarters of 2024 is up 4% from last year, at US$10,55 billion. The top exported products by value include citrus, nuts, maize, apples and pears, wine, fruit juices, sugar, dates, figs, avocados and mangos, berries, and grapes, amongst other products.

While logistics infrastructure efficiency remains a primary concern for the farming sector, the ongoing collaboration between Transnet, private industry, and the various logistical organizations assists in ensuring the continuous flow of products, even if there are delays in specific periods.

From a regional perspective, the African continent maintained the lion's share of South Africa's agricultural exports in the third quarter of 2024, accounting for 39% of the total value.

As a collective, Asia and the Middle East were the second-largest agricultural markets, accounting for 25% of the share in overall agricultural exports in the third quarter of 2024.

The EU was South Africa's third-largest agricultural market, with a share of 20%. The Americas region accounted for 6% of South Africa's agricultural exports in the year's third quarter. The rest of the world, including the United Kingdom, accounted for 10% of the exports.

Listen to the podcast for more insights.

Richard Humphries and Sam Mkokeli produce this podcast.
13 Dec English South Africa Investing · Food

Other recent episodes

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