November 2020

Business Confidence Reaches 2-Year High

26 November 2020 – BUSINESS confidence in South Africa rose to two-year highs in the fourth quarter as activity returned to near prepandemic levels following the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) said yesterday that economic growth for 2021 remained “highly uncertain” in spite of business confidence rebounding significantly in

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Rainfall Could Cause Slight Delays In SA Summer Crop Plantings, But That Shouldn’t Be A Concern

25 November 2020 – The one dominant event in South Africa’s agriculture this past week was increased rainfall in several summer crop-growing regions. This was primarily in the eastern regions of the country, and there were also destructive winds in the former Transkei in the Eastern Cape and also parts of Gauteng. Summer crop plantings have been

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Imported Inputs Continue To Hamper Local Grain Production

24 November 2020 – The South African grain production industry is highly dependent on imported agricultural inputs, which means local grain prices are subjected to the same supply and demand forces that drive international markets. According to the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy’s (BFAP) recent, annual summer grain scenario planning report published on behalf

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SARB Keeps Repo Rate At 3.5%

20 November 2020 – THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday slashed consumers’ hopes for an early Christmas present when it indicated that the rates cutting cycle was over and leaving the repurchase rate (repo rate) unchanged for the second consecutive time. In its final rates decision for the year, Sarb’s Monetary Policy Committee held

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La Niña Rains Kick Off South Africa’s 2020/21 Summer Crop Season

17 November 2020 – The most crucial time for SA’s summer crop and some horticulture products, and by extension the livestock sector, is between October and February each year. This is the summer rainfall period and therefore a determinant of the season’s harvest and veld conditions. The 2020/2021 production season commenced at the beginning of

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