April 2021

30 April 2021 – Producer prices, which have risen at their fastest pace in two years, do not necessarily signal higher inflation and interest rates because a weaker economy implies weaker demand. The producer price index (PPI) accelerated to an annual rate of 5.2% in March, its fastest since June 2019, Stats SA said in […]

29 April 2021 – According to brand-new data by Statistics South Africa 216 companies liquidated in March this year, compared to 178 the month before – a 21% jump. This is almost 50% higher than March last year. Business consultants are concerned about smaller businesses, which bear the brunt of the hardship, and have developed some lifelines to help

28 April 2021 – The agricultural sector remains a net exporter, with exportable volumes of various commodities growing annually, weather conditions permitting. The export value of $10.2bn in 2020 was the second-largest on record, after $10.7bn in 2018. Aside from the regulations and trade agreements that allow SA’s agricultural sector to enjoy this excellent export

26 April 2021 – SA’s trade balance data is likely to be the highlight this week, along with the release of producer price inflation, which picked up in March as a result of higher fuel prices. Elevated commodity prices and the continuous recovery in the global demand for manufactured goods are expected to have lifted

23 April 2021 – The favourable agricultural season for most African countries has not reached the corners of Kenya sufficiently. Kenya is one of the few African countries that will likely remain significant maize importers in the 2021/22 marketing year. Several countries such as Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Ethiopia expect a large domestic

22 April 2021 – Bad debts are not good for a business. Sometimes, companies may have followed all the steps to prevent cash flow problems and late payment, but they can still be impacted by non-payment. What is Bad debt protection? Bad debt protection can help limit some losses when customers are unable to pay their bills. While

21 April 2021 – Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rebound this year as the continent’s economic drivers pick up momentum after activity was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, despite a slower pace of vaccinations compared with the rich world, a Reuters poll found. Medians in a Reuters poll taken in the past week showed sub-Saharan

20 April 2021 – The South African beef industry stood a good chance to capture a slice of the global export market if it competed with markets that exported lower volumes of better-quality beef, said the Beefmaster Group. Roelie van Reenen, the supply chain executive, said last week that those were countries like the Netherlands.

19 April 2021 – As travel restrictions remain in place, in-market export promotion activities continue to take the virtual route. According to Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro, this is not expected to change and travel restrictions are expected to remain in effect for at least the first half of 2021. “The inability to travel or

16 April 2021 – South Africa’s retail trade sales unexpectedly rebounded in February and rose 2.3 percent from a year earlier, recovering from an upwardly revised 3.7 percent contraction in January. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said today this was the first positive reading in retail activity since March 2020 amid the relaxation of the country’s