In the second quarter of 2021, South Africa recorded an agricultural trade surplus of $1.5 billion (R22 bln). This represented a year-on-year increase of 40 percent, according to Agricultural Business Chamber Agbiz. Yesterday, Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said that agricultural exports amounted to $2.9 bln in the first quarter; was a year-on-year increase of 28 percent: “We now have the full data for the second quarter, which showed an even stronger performance, with exports valued at $3.2 bln, up 36 percent year-on-year. This means that in the first half of 2021, South Africa’s agricultural exports amounted to $6.1 bln, which is a 30 percent year-on-year increase. Compared with last year, the growth is partly because of base effects, as the first half of 2020 was heavily affected by the Covid-19-related disruptions to global supply chains. Still, the growth reflects rising export performance for various products,” said Sihlobo.
Top exports in the second quarter were citrus, apples and pears, maize, wine, grapes, pineapples and avocados, wool and nuts. According to dailyscoopmg.com, Sihlobo said Agbiz expected some of these products to continue dominating the list of exports in the second half of the year, thanks to large production volumes. He added that there were temporary delays in exports from the port of Durban at the beginning of last month because of the unrest.