In the midst of the latest merry-go-round with China, once more foreign aid takes centre stage with a bouquet of loan offers, cancellations and grants concocted for the continent. This helps, but is far from the answer to our medium- and long-term development goals. The answer lies with fairer trade and with the continent looking within itself for products and markets. 

he U.S. trade deficit widened in August to the biggest in six months as soybean exports plunged and a measure of the gap with China hit a record, showing how the Trump administration’s trade war is dragging on economic growth.

Agri-Expo Livestock and the Groot Plaasproe, honoured with the prestigious ROAR exhibition industry award as Best Trade and Consumer Exhibition in Africa in January this year, will be back this week from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 October at Sandringham outside Stellenbosch.

With US President Donald Trump threatening to raise import duties on an additional $267 billion worth of Chinese products on top of the tariffs already in place, it is worth pausing to reflect on what the trade wars of the past can teach us about the likely outcomes of the current dispute, especially as South Africa seems likely to get caught up in the cross-fire. 

Two-way agricultural trade between the United States and countries in Southern Africa reached a record $1.5 billion last year, according to most recent international ag trade report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

South Africa’s Trade and Industry minister Rob Davies has stated that Brexit will not disrupt trade relations between the UK and SA. Davies said the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), of which SA is a part, is close to finalising a deal with the UK to replicate the existing economic partnership agreement which the customs union has with the EU. Sacu is a customs union in Southern Africa which includes SA, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini (Swaziland). 

The world’s grain markets face a year of challenges and uncertainty, with weather and politics likely to drive trade flows and prices, said the keynote speaker at the Global Grain Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

Wandile Sihlobo, agricultural economist, at Agribusiness Research at the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) of South Africa, comments on South Africa’s agricultural exports.

The US and China have for the past three months been locked in discussions about how to overcome a trade dispute that has slowed Chinese economic growth and seen the US-China trade balance slump to a record low last year.

I just read an insightful, recently published paper from the International Monetary Fund titled: Is the African Continental Free Trade Area a Game Changer for the Continent?

One of the questions I am often asked is whether the US-China trade friction presents any opportunities in the near term that South Africa’s agricultural sector can explore.

If I do not write about South Africa’s first quarter of 2019 agricultural trade figures, one would assume that there have been limited positive developments in this sector as the past few months have been clouded by unwelcoming news.

If I do not write about South Africa’s first quarter of 2019 agricultural trade figures, one would assume that there have been limited positive developments in this sector as the past few months have been clouded by unwelcoming news.

The local Sustainable Cotton Cluster (SCC) is dreaming big. It is planning to launch a sustainable and transparent cotton production and beneficiation pipeline in South Africa, successfully connect it to offshore supply chains, and tap into a growing global consumer conscience.

South African agriculture, with certain exceptions, faces slow growth in coming years

– Japan will offer enhanced trade insurance to boost private sector investment in Africa, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday as his country competes with rival China for influence in the resource-rich continent.

More than 50 African countries took part in the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in China in June, hoping to tap into the massive Chinese market.

A united African continent working towards common goals would be a major force on the global economic stage.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is a continental agreement which came into force in May 2019.

The victory of the Conservative Party under Alexander “Boris” de Pfeffel Johnson in the Dec. 12 British election has brought an element of increased certainty, at least in the short term, to trading conditions for the grains sector in Britain and Northern Ireland. Enormous difficulties remain before longer-term clarity can be achieved.