The need to expand South Africa’s agricultural export markets beyond the current reach, along with concerns about logistical interruptions, were the two major running themes in various interactions we had with agribusinesses last month.
China, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh are some of the markets that the agribusinesses are interested in expanding their presence in. This is because of the growing population and generally better economic conditions that support the demand for high value agriculture, food, and beverages products. For the near term, the destruction and criminality destroying Transnet infrastructure was a key focus. This is mainly because South Africa’s agricultural and agribusiness sector is export-oriented. Some worried that the unrest in Kwa-Zulu Natal in July, combined with the cyberattack at Transnet and general theft of rail material that disrupted the agriculture, food and beverages export activity would have a notable impact on trade figures for the second half of this year.
