Browse Data and Analysis

The South African Agricultural Economic Fact Sheet has been updated to include calendar year 2021. Bilateral agricultural trad between the United States and South Africa reached record levels of US$860 million in 2021.

South Africa is set for a record pome fruit and table grape production in marketing year 2021/22. Favorable weather conditions, new areas under production, and higher yielding cultivars is driving the growth in production.

On April 11, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced that the country is battling 56 outbreak cases of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) involving farms and communal areas in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng. According to the DALRRD Animal Health Directorate, the outbreaks currently troubling South Africa were caused by illegal movements of animals out of the FMD controlled zones in Limpopo.

Post forecasts that the South African sugar cane crop will expand by 9 percent to 18.8 million metric tons (MT) in the 2022/23 market year (MY), based on a return to normal weather conditions, an improvement in yields, and marginal increases in planted area.

South Africa is a middle-income emerging market with a well-developed agribusiness sector that plays a significant role in job creation and economic growth. Although largely self-sufficient in agricultural production, South Africa offers some opportunities for U.S. exports, especially in the food ingredients sector.

South Africa experienced an upward trend in oilseed production (soybeans and sunflower seeds) driven largely by rising oilseed prices, higher yielding cultivars, and a local demand-pull from investments in new oilseed processing plants.

After exceptional consecutive production seasons of solid growth supported by relatively high commodity prices and favorable weather conditions, wheat and corn producers in South Africa are optimistically looking forward to the 2022 production season.

South Africa had an excellent start to the 2021/22 MY, with carry-over soil moisture and widespread rains that led corn producers to start plantings two to four weeks earlier than usual. Excessive rainfall during December to early January caused damage to planted crops in some areas that could impact crop size, although the extent will only become clear over the next few months.

South Africa has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties against bone-in chicken meat imports from Brazil and four European Union countries. With this announcement, South Africa is now imposing anti-dumping duties against all nine countries that have regularly exported bone-in chicken portions to this market.

South Africa continues to be an important market for U.S. agricultural products. The country is an attractive business destination due to its growing market and a well-developed infrastructure, catering to efficient distribution of both imported and locally produced agricultural products to major urban centers and the entire Southern Africa region.

On December 7, 2021, South African Parliament failed to pass the proposed amendments to Section 25 of the Constitution which would have allowed for the expropriation of land without compensation.

The production of citrus is forecast to continue its strong growth in Marketing Year (MY) 2021/22, based on the increase in area planted, new-plantings coming into full production, available irrigation water, and normal weather conditions.