In our comments this year, we have highlighted that this will be a year of mixed fortunes in South Africa’s agriculture. The livestock industry continues to struggle with foot-and-mouth disease, and we see the tail-end effects of African swine fever in the pork production industry. We have generally maintained an optimistic view of field crops, fruits and vegetables because of the favourable summer rains, which have boosted production.
But the reality is that not all is well with the field crops. The wheat industry is under immense strain. The higher input costs at the start of the season, fuel and fertiliser, combined with lower wheat prices at the time (on the back of ample global supplies) and the unfavourable weather conditions in the Western Cape are the major challenges. We discuss this in more depth in this week’s episode.
