February 2023

28 February 2023 – After resilient performance in the first half of 2022, global trade deteriorated in the second half of the year and is likely to remain muted in 2023. Despite disruptive events in H1 2022 (start of the war in Ukraine, long lockdowns in China etc.), global trade of goods grew by +4.1% […]

27 February 2023 – According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, all categories of citrus fruit are forecast to witness decreases in their global production in the 2022/23 season owing to a combination of negative factors such as adverse weather events and increased costs of agricultural inputs. With the exception

24 February 2023 – The South African logistics sector, as measured by the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index, took severe strain during December, clearly still reeling from the aftermath of the crippling Transnet strike in October. With all the commercial ports affected at the time, extensive backlogs were created, while the economic damage subsequently spread

23 February 2023 – Despite various headwinds throughout the year, South Africa’s agriculture exports for 2022 did not decline as much as some feared. Data for the first eleven months of the year show exports at a cumulative US$11,9 billion, up 3% from the same period in 2021. Moreover, US$11,9 billion is the second largest

22 February 2023 – African ports and terminals are increasingly attracting international attention – and investment in the sector is growing. The continent has seen a massive increase in port infrastructure investment since the mid-2000s. A myriad of plans and proposals for the construction or upgrades of ports is currently on the table, says Duncan

21 February 2023 – Trade trends during the last three years have been greatly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020, the economic disruptions brought about by COVID-19 resulted in a decline of international trade in goods and services. However, as global demand resumed, international trade strongly rebounded in 2021 and further increased during 2022.

20 February 2023 – With a week to go before Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables his budget in Parliament, two global credit ratings agencies have warned of SA’s deteriorating risk profile due to the impact of prolonged electricity cuts on the economy. On Wednesday, Fitch ratings said that while it had anticipated the power cuts

17 February 2023 – The production of shipping containers is expected to decline for the second year in a row after a massive drop in 2022, according to maritime and shipping industry research and consulting service Drewry. This comes as the container shipping market grapples with subdued growth in consumption due to increasing consumer prices.

16 February 2023 – Daily power cuts are wreaking havoc on South African wine producers as they struggle to irrigate and press grapes during the harvest. Electricity from state-run power company Eskom has gone down every day so far this year, and the rolling blackouts have left some producers on the brink. Christo Conradie, manager of wine

15 February 2023 – South Africa’s perishable produce industry continued to exceed expectations and managed to move just over 3.5 million tonnes of fresh produce last year, according to the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB). Lucien Jansen, CEO at this independent quality certification agency for cold chain producers and exporters of perishable food, said