Browse Data and Analysis

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.

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has published guidelines regarding procedures for sampling, transportation and handling of meat samples that are meant for microbiological monitoring. The standard procedures...

The ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in South Africa, which began in April 2021, has led to the culling of nearly 3 million birds, primarily layers. While the greatest impact to date has been in the Western Cape, the...

Worldwide agricultural inputs prices have risen steeply the past year. South Africa is at the start of the 2021/22 summer production season and farmers are confronting these increased inputs prices that will squeeze profit margins.

South Africa has a robust and experienced regulatory system for genetically engineered (GE) products, which started with the publication of its “GMO” Act in 1997. Today, South Africa is among the top-10 largest producers of GE crops in the world and by far the largest in Africa.

In late October, Swedish authorities detected the presence of Newcastle disease among laying hens on a farm in Lekeberg, Örebro county. The 7,500 animals on the infected farm will be culled and the farm will be decontaminated.

The production of apples, pears and table grapes is forecast to continue its growth in the 2021/22 MY, based on normal weather conditions, new areas coming into production and high yielding varieties.

On October 27, 2021, South Africa, through a public notice, announced its regulatory approach for New Breeding Techniques.