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Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo

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10:23

The US recent tariff modification may be favourable...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/16

The U.S. decision to modify its reciprocal tariffs and exempt some food products is a positive step towards easing agricultural trade friction, which is costly to both exporting countries and U.S. consumers. The exempted products include coffee and tea, fruit juices, cocoa, and spices, as well as avocados, bananas, coconuts, guavas, limes, oranges, mangoes, plantains, pineapples, various peppers and tomatoes, beef, and additional fertilisers. The U.S. government took this positive policy step in an

9:25

The unforgiving winters and summers of the beautiful...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/14

The Karoo region of South Africa experiences intense weather conditions, with often extremely hot summers and bitterly cold winters. It is these extreme weather conditions that nurture the distinct vegetation of the region, which is a source of feed for the sheep industry there. The Karoo lamb has a unique and supreme taste due to the distinct vegetation. But there are times when extreme heat and dryness can cause worries about the vegetation, and there were certainly areas where farmers were

10:11

The African governments must help farmers

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/13

The African government must do everything possible to assist farmers during the 2025-26 production season. In the past, when confronted with disasters and food shortages, we had relied on organisations such as the World Food Programme for assistance. This time around, the World Food Programme is no longer fit to assist if we run into challenges. Hence, thinking about the future, we have to do whatever we can to help farmers get out into the fields and till the land, so they can have an ample

12:14

Agricultural job prospects remain positive in South...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/12

South Africa’s agriculture continues to create job opportunities, and its long-term job creation prospects remain positive. If we look at the high-frequency data for a moment, the number of farm jobs in South Africa has increased slightly from the second quarter of 2025, by 2% to 920k in the third quarter. We see the quarterly improvements mainly in some field crops, horticulture, forestry, and in the production of organic fertiliser. The increase in jobs reflects the optimism generated by the

8:38

South Africa's 2025-26 winter crop production...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/09

This is a busy period in South African farming. The summer crop farmers are tilling the land for the new season, table grape farmers are harvesting, and the winter crop farmers are harvesting.South Africa’s 2025-26 winter wheat season began at the start of October. But we are seeing that farmers have begun delivering the new season crop, which was planted from the start of May. In the first five weeks of this year, farmers have delivered about 425,190 tonnes of wheat to commercial silos. These

11:37

Dispel false narratives about the South African...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/08

We must dispel the false narrative that South Africa’s farming sector is under siege. This sector has flourished since the dawn of democracy in 1994. We have seen its value more than double, and exports are expanding. We are now the only African country in the top 40 global agricultural exporters. If there were indeed an attack on the farming sector, we wouldn’t be seeing such success. Another danger we must not underestimate is the negative image the false narratives create. We are an

12:25

Grain abundance in South Africa bodes well for...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/11/02

South Africa's 2024-25 summer grain and oilseeds production season was excellent. In its 9th production estimate, released on October 28, 2025, the Crop Estimate Committee raised South Africa's 2024-25 production by 1% from the September estimate to 20.08 million tonnes. This figure comprises maize, soybean, sunflower seed, groundnuts, sorghum, and dry beans. The upward revision was mainly on maize, while other production estimates remained unchanged from the September figure. The current

10:48

SA agriculture is in a busy period, with a promising...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/10/26

We are in a period of relatively high activity in South Africa’s agriculture. Farmers across the country are tilling the land to mark the start of the 2025-26 summer crop season. We also see some activity in the vegetable fields as farmers prepare for the season ahead. The outlook is positive as we are in a La Niña period. There is also increased activity in the winter crop-growing regions of the country, with farmers beginning harvest of the 2025-26 crop, which was planted in May 2025. We may

7:28

South Africa's maize exports to Zimbabwe continue, as...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/10/13

In the week of September 26 and October 3, 2025, Zimbabwe imported 34,093 tonnes of maize from South Africa. These imports are at a time when Zimbabwe has previously announced a ban on maize imports, an effort that was set to provide the local producers space to sell their produce to the domestic users. What then is happening here? Listen to the podcast for more information. Richard Humphries and Sam Mkokeli produce this podcast. Wandile Sihlobo website

10:47

Another boost to SA's 2024-25 summer grains and...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/10/03

We are ending South Africa's 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed production season on an optimistic note. We now have eight production estimates with two more to follow, which are unlikely to change the positive picture we have. The data released at the end of September 2025 by the Crop Estimates Committee show an increase in South Africa's 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed harvest estimate, up by 2% from the August 2025 estimate to an expected 19.94 million tonnes (a 28% year-on-year increase)

11:06

Kenya's maize production has recovered

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/09/27

Similar to the improvement in maize production witnessed in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and other countries in the Southern African region, Kenya's maize crop has also shown signs of recovery. The latest estimate by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) places the country's harvest at 4.4 million tonnes. This is up 15% from the previous season due to both the expansion in area plantings and improved yields. Consequently, imports are expected to decline by 17% to 250,000 tonnes in

10:44

South Africa's food price inflation eases

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/09/17

We see a constructive picture of South Africa's food price inflation, easing at 5.2% in August 2025, from 5.5% in the previous months. South Africa has an abundant harvest of grains, fruits, and various vegetables, and the benefits of this are starting to show in prices. It is these products that were the major drivers of the moderation in price inflation. A key product that many are watching is meat, particularly beef (and red meat products), which has remained elevated, although slaughtering has

5:10

South African farmers will start planting summer...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/09/16

Next month, October, we will start our 2025-26 summer grains and oilseed production season in South Africa. The outlook for the season looks optimistic with prospects of rain, which will benefit not only crops but the overall agricultural sector. Listen to the podcast for more information. Richard Humphries and Sam Mkokeli produce this podcast. Wandile Sihlobo website

11:37

South Africa’s agricultural sector will likely see a...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/09/14

South Africa's agricultural sector is in its recovery phase, and the second quarter of 2025 figures signal the improvement, albeit mildly. The country's agricultural gross value added expanded by 2.5% quarter-on-quarter (seasonally adjusted) in the second quarter. This follows the 18.6% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of the year. The expansion was primarily due to the improved performance of certain field crops and the horticulture subsectors. As the close observers of the sector know, the

10:12

South Africa's agricultural machinery sales remain...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/09/05

One of the interlinked industries that tends to benefit when the agricultural sector is thriving is the agricultural machinery industry. This year is no different; South Africa's agricultural machinery sales have remained reasonably robust since the start of 2025. I suspect the sales are likely to continue at this encouraging pace. If we consider the details, the tractor sales have increased for the past eight consecutive months, while the combine harvester sales only cooled in the recent few

12:01

Zimbabwe bans maize imports

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/09/01

The Zimbabwean government has reinstated a ban on maize imports. The government believes that in the interim, there are sufficient supplies for the local market and wants to ensure maximum price realisation for the domestic producers before allowing imports. Nevertheless, it remains unclear if Zimbabwe has sufficient maize supplies for the year or will need imports later. Zimbabwe’s 2024-25 maize production is forecast at 1.3 million tonnes, according to recent data from the Pretoria-based unit of

11:31

South African agricultural exports were up 10% in the...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/08/23

After solid export activity in the first quarter of the year, South Africa's agricultural exports totalled US$3.71 billion in Q2, up 10% from the same period a year ago, according to data from Trade Map. This is again a function of both higher volumes of various product exports and better commodity prices. The products that dominated the exports list in the second quarter of the year were mainly citrus, apples and pears, maize, wine, nuts, fruit juices, dates, pineapples, avocados, grapes, and wool,

10:41

South Africa’s agricultural sector may see an uneven...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/08/15

We continue to see more evidence that 2025 will likely be an uneven recovery for South Africa’s agriculture. The horticulture (fruits and vegetables), and field crops (grains, oilseeds and sugarcane) are experiencing excellent yield recovery, benefiting from better summer and winter rains. But the livestock and poultry industries face some constraints. The effects of these divergences are also clear in the jobs data for the sector, with the losses in the livestock industry. The major challenge in

10:04

The Far East countries are back buying SA's maize

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/08/08

South Africa's maize exports are back in the Far East export markets. These aren't new territories for our maize. We typically export to them during the seasons of abundance, such as this one. Last season, we did not see many maize exports to the Far East. Our export activity focused on Africa. The region was hit by the drought and needed maize more than other regions for staple food. South Africa channelled its maize exports, mainly white maize, to this region. And yes, South Africa was also

11:37

SA's ample grain harvest may help ease food price...

Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo ·

2025/07/30

South Africa's 2024-25 summer grains and oilseed production estimate was lifted again this month, by 2% from the June 2025 estimate to an expected 18.74 million tonnes (up 21% year-on-year). There is an annual uptick in all the crops, mainly supported by favourable summer rains and the decent area plantings. This ample harvest will likely add downward pressure on prices, which bodes well for consumer food price inflation. The recent surge in maize prices was linked to the slow harvest process

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