Last week brought further evidence that there is no need for protectionist policies in the global grains market as there are abundant supplies.

Last week brought further evidence that there is no need for protectionist policies in the global grains market as there are abundant supplies.

As many parts of the economy remain closed due to lockdown restrictions, we are seeing some evidence that South Africa’s agriculture and allied industries have thus far not been as hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic as other sectors of the economy.

As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, governments have intensified efforts to contain the pandemic by limiting the movement of people and temporarily shutting down parts of the economy.

 As countries continue to implement “risk-adjusted” responses to COVID-19, global leaders and analysts alike continue to assess the evolving implications of the pandemic on global markets.

What makes the Covid-19 pandemic unique is that it is primarily a health crisis that has also fundamentally affected both the supply and demand side of the global economy.

 The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has brought uncertainty in global trade because of disruptions in supply chains and weakening demand.

I’ve recently cautioned that dryness in parts of Europe and North America could lead to poor grain yields, which would mean that anticipated record harvests in 2020/21 might fail to materialise.

The role of the South African and Zambian maize industries in the Southern and East African regions will remain significant in the 2020/21 marketing year which ends in April 2021. Within the Southern Africa region, the recent data released by Zimbabwe’s ministry of lands and agriculture placed its 2019/20 maize harvest at 907 628 tonnes which is up by 17% from the previous season.

The South African agriculture sector has the potential to be amongst the sectors that will drive economic growth and job creation during the post-COVID-19 recovery phrase.

The South African agriculture sector has the potential to be amongst the sectors that will drive economic growth and job creation during the post-COVID-19 recovery phrase. The path to realise this growth does not need new policies.

 One of the key questions that consistently arises amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy is about the effects on employment.

There is consensus amongst South Africa’s agricultural economists that the next frontiers for growth in the sector will be through the expansion of production mainly in the former homelands provinces (KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo).

The high-frequency data on both domestic and global markets reinforced our view that grain prices could be under pressure this year and that, in turn, could lead to subdued food price inflation.

After experiencing four consecutive quarters of contraction because of droughts and foot-and-mouth disease amongst other factors, South Africa’s agriculture economy rebounded in the first quarter of 2020 by 27.8% q/q on a seasonally-adjusted and annualised basis.

 This past week, the Economic Transformation Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) and Business for South Africa (B4SA), each released their discussion documents about the post-COVID-19 inclusive economy for South Africa.

In the second week of June 2020, the Economic Transformation Committee of the African National Congress (ANC)2 and Business for South Africa (B4SA)3 , released their respective strategy documents for the post-COVID-19 inclusive economy recovery for South Africa.

In the second week of July 2020, the Economic Transformation Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) and Business for South Africa (B4SA), released their respective strategy documents for the post-Covid-19 inclusive economy recovery for South Africa.

The rural economy should not be forgotten in SA’s post-Covid-19 recovery plans.

South Africa’s 2020/21 winter wheat season had a bad start because of dryness.