Source: Wandile Sihlobo, Fin24, 12 October 12, photo credit: Farming for Tomorrow
The available data such as tractors sales, weather outlook, and commodity prices, which could be read as “leading indicators”, suggests that this could be yet another good season for South Africa’s agricultural sector.
The focus on 28 October 2020, which is a day when the data will be released, will mainly be on maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts, sorghum and dry beans,which are all major summer grains and oilseeds.
The aforementioned tractors sales, which are an important early indicator of farmers’ expectations for the upcoming season, have been robust since June 2020. The recent sales for September 2020 show eda 23% y/y increase,with about 529 units sold. Importantly, the available data for the first nine months of the year already show that South Africa’s tractors’ sales amounted to 3 924 units, up slightly by 0.1% y/y.
This was boosted, to a certain extent, by improved farmers’ financial position following a large summer grains harvest in 2019/20 production season and combined with higher commodity prices.
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The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
