Agriculture
From The Report: South Africa 2013
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Despite some challenging circumstances, the South African agricultural sector continues to perform robustly. In the first quarter of 2013, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector comprised 2.2% of real GDP. The country’s major farming segments in recent years have included cattle, dairy, poultry, sugar and maize. In terms of turnover, as many as 10 of the top 20 agribusinesses in South Africa are domestic firms. With demand somewhat stymied and rising costs of operation for a number of farmers and agro-processing businesses, the sector faces some pressing challenges, including uncertainty over land tenure, labour unrest and the current economic environment. While these have created some difficulties, they have not cast a shadow over the future of the industry and investors have many reasons to look favourably on South African agriculture.
This chapter contains an interview with Su Birch, CEO, Wines of South Africa.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Deep roots: A diverse production mix offers opportunities to rebuild the sector
OBG
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Despite some challenging circumstances, the South African agricultural sector continues to perform robustly. While uncertainty over land tenure, labour unrest and the current economic environment have created some difficulties, they have not cast a shadow over the future of the industry. As the country continues to struggle with the post-apartheid quest for transformation of the sector, employment generation and rural development, the industry produces standout commercial success stories. Indeed,…

Analysis

Export earner: The local wine sector continues to garner international distinction
OBG
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The wine industry in South Africa is not only gaining exposure and credibility internationally, but also becoming an indispensable element of the country’s export earnings. The viniculture industry, centred on the Western Cape, has been increasingly piquing the interest of investors as South African wine products gain new markets globally. There are nonetheless several challenges remaining, from labour considerations to access in the country’s most well-established markets. The local industry…

Interview

OBG talks to Su Birch, CEO, Wines of South Africa
OBG
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Interview:Su Birch To what extent is there room for additional government support in the wine industry? SU BIRCH: In terms of government negotiated excise and duties, we have a 46m-litre duty free agreement with the EU, which is obviously a plus. Compared with some of our wine-producing competitors, such as Australia and the EU, the South African wine industry is disproportionally less funded by government. In fact, our wine industry receives hardly any financial support. The infrastructure…

Analysis

The fruits of labour: Efforts are under way to ensure smallholders have a bigger share of the market
OBG
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The position of South Africa’s smaller farmers remains one of the key issues still facing the country. While the agricultural sector has largely maintained its output and economic value in the last five years, there has been little improvement in integrating smallholders into the wider agricultural value chain. According to the South African Press Association, the commercial farming sector, comprising 37,000 members, accounts for 90% of the country’s agricultural output, while the 25m rural inhabitants…