April 2023

28 April 2023 – Over 400 businesses have liquidated in South Africa so far this 2023. The latest March 2023 statistics of liquidations provided by Stats SA showed that over the course of the third month of the year, there were 168 liquidations. When compared to March 2022, the year before, there was a 7.7% […]

26 April 2023 – Yvette van der Merwe, executive manager of SAWIS, said the industry had decided to make harvest estimates public only once the harvest was complete, since so many variables affected the harvest within the season. She added, however, that this season’s harvest would be substantially smaller than the 2022 harvest which, at

24 April 2023 – It’s all systems go as Transnet Port Terminals begins handling citrus exports across its Durban and Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) Container Terminals in a season that poses many challenges for South African farmers. To this end, the container terminals will be open over a 24-hour period, and have dedicated lanes prioritising refrigerated

21 April 2023 – SA Canegrowers chairperson Andrew Russell said Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow mills’ payment defaults would cost the sugar industry R1.5 billion. Tongaat Hulett was unable to pay more than R900 million due to the South African Sugar Association (Sasa) at the end of March, while a further default by the Gledhow mill

20 April 2023 – China’s economy grew by 4.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, signalling that the world’s second-largest economy is firmly on the path to recovery after the end of Beijing’s strict “zero-Covid” policies. The growth figure falls slightly short of Beijing’s 5 percent growth target for 2023, set at the National

18 April 2023 – By and large, global grains and oilseeds prices have continued to trend lower. This follows the diplomatic interventions by the United Nations representatives, and the Turkish, Russian, and Ukrainian government counterparts to facilitate the safe passage of grain exports out of the Black Sea region through the “Black Sea Grain Deal.”

17 April 2023 – South Africa’s muted economic growth is expected to drag the prospects of the whole sub-Saharan African region lower in 2023, as the country is the most-industrialised economy in the region. This was the warning issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the release of its sub-Saharan African Regional Economic Outlook

14 April 2023 – After a small rebound in 2022 (+2%), global insolvencies are set to bounce by +21% in 2023 and +4% in 2024. Half of the countries are likely to exceed their pre-pandemic levels of insolvencies in 2023  The rebound in business insolvencies is globally picking up speed: According to Allianz Trade’s Global

13 April 2023 – Manufacturing production contracted 5.2% year on year (y/y) in February, weaker than expected, as power outages weighed. This was from a revised 4.1% in January. Statistics SA said on Tuesday that the largest contributions to the decline were made by food and beverages (-6.1%); basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products,