Browse Data and Analysis

The South African retail food sector is well-developed and continues to expand into other African countries. In 2021, South African retail food sales totaled $40 billion, a 0.2 percent increase from 2020 as the South African economy began to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Africa is set for record citrus exports of 2.7 million tons in marketing year 2021/22 despite ongoing challenges. Favorable weather conditions, new areas under production, and higher demand in premium markets, such as the United States, are driving the growth in exports.

The United States exports bone-in chicken meat to South Africa under a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) arrangement, which was set at 71,290 tons to be imported quarterly for the April 2021 - March 2022 quota year. The US bone-in chicken quota for the year 2021/2022 was filled at 84 percent, a 10 percent drop from the previous quota year.

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.

Rice production in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Mali is forecast at 8.02 million metric tons (MMT) in MY 2022/23 on average weather, improved irrigation, and enhanced stability in production areas. The 15 percent jump from MY 2021/22 follows a growing season that was plagued by poor weather, militant activity and instability in Mali, and irrigation issues and pest prevalence in Senegal.

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.