Russia-Ukraine war sparks surge in SA food production

THE war between Russia and Ukraine has sparked both the expansion of food production across the Western Cape and the search for more export markets for South African agricultural produce in general.

Data released by the Crop Estimates Committee shows that South African producers have increased their plantings of winter crops, notably wheat, barley and canola, for the 2022/23 season, to take advantage of higher prices.

At the same time the SA Weather Service said in its seasonal outlook for the summer that “rainfall conditions are predicted to improve further during the early summer into the start of the midsummer months”.

The chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), Wandile Sihlobo, said South Africa’s 2022 wheat production forecast lifted by 2% from last month to 2.2 million tons, and could see further improvements in the coming months with good rains in the Western Cape.

With regard to export markets, the past few months brought challenges and threats for South Africa in key markets such as China over wool exports and the EU over citrus exports.

Some of these challenges had since been resolved, and the second quarter data of South Africa’s agricultural exports shows a 5% improvement from the second quarter of 2021.

The top exportable products included wheat, citrus, maize, wine, fruit juices, wool and sugar.

Sihlobo said from a destination point of view, the African continent remained the largest South African agricultural export market in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 35% in terms of value.

Asia was the second largest region, accounting for 28% of the country’s exports, with the EU holding the third position with 21%.

In light of these developments, the Western Cape agricultural sector has taken steps to explore more market opportunities offered through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Greater trade with Africa is being regarded as a viable option to offset the negative impact of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Among Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer’s key announcements during the provincial agriculture budget was that the department was in the process of developing a provincial African agricultural strategy to guide the approach to the African market.

Last week during a visit to the Overberg region town of Bredasdorp, Premier Alan Winde and Meyer met farmers and agriculture workers in a bid to build partnerships and collaboration in the interests of food security and economic recovery.

Winde thanked the agricultural community for their dedication to drive the province’s economic recovery, despite a multitude of challenges.