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South Africa is currently harvesting its second largest corn crop in history and a fourth consecutive bumper crop. This creates a bearish outlook on local corn prices and will limit an expansion in the area to be planted with corn in marketing year (MY) 2023/24.

On May 21, 2023, the South African Minister of Health issued a Government Notice (R.3337) inviting public comments on a draft regulation relating to the labelling and advertising of food products under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No.54 of 1972).

Zambia’s production of its staple crop, corn, is expected to grow by 23 percent to 3.3 million metric tons (MMT) in marketing year (MY) 2023/24, mainly due to an upsurge in planted area.

Ghana’s Hotel and Restaurant Institutional sector is growing, with tourism being an important driver of economic growth. In 2019, the sector generated U.S. $1.9 billion for the economy. Local and international franchises operate in major cities across the country.

The South African retail food market is highly concentrated among the five largest companies, including Shoprite Holdings Ltd, Pick n Pay Retailers Pty Ltd, Spar Group Ltd, Massmart (Walmart-owned), and Woolworths Holdings Ltd.

South African production of oranges and lemons is projected to decrease in MY 2022/23 due to stagnated production area and a return to normal yield.

Zimbabwe’s corn crop for marketing year 2023/24 is estimated at 1.5 million metric tons. This represents an increase of five percent from the previous marketing year’s crop, mainly due to a normal rainfall season in the northern parts of the country.

Seafood is an important staple in Ghanaian cuisine as it accounts for 60 percent of animal protein intake with an estimated per capita consumption rate of 26 kg. U.S. seafood sales to Ghana recently experienced a boost in sales, however, sustained seafood exports from the U.S. are at risk due to the Government of Ghana’s (GOG) recent announcement to increase the tax 1,573 percent per metric ton on frozen seafood.

The Angolan Agricultural Economic Fact Sheet has been updated to include calendar year 2022. U.S. agricultural exports to Angola reached $237 million in 2022, rebounding by 80 percent from the previous year.

The impacts of climate change are beginning to manifest on the entire globe and particularly on developing countries like Ghana. The country is vulnerable to rising sea levels, droughts, increasing temperatures and erratic rainfall which adversely impacts infrastructure, hydropower production, food security and coastal and agricultural livelihoods.

MY 2023/24 coffee production is forecast to increase 21 percent to 1.35 million bags due to a recovery from drought conditions and trees entering the most productive period of their three-year yield cycle.

The production of apples, pears and table grapes is estimated to decrease slightly in the 2022/23 Marketing Year (MY), based largely on stagnated production area and a return to normal yields following record production for all three commodities.