February 2024

29 February 2024 – The opportunities the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement creates for the development of intra-African trade are becoming apparent, according to Philip Myburgh, executive head of trade and Africa-China, business and commercial clients at the Standard Bank Group, amid disruptions to traditional trade routes, unpredictable shipping times, and skyrocketing freight […]

28 February 2024 – Paris: Allianz Trade, which operates through the Allianz Commercial license in South Africa, released its first Country Risk Atlas, a new flagship publication focused on country risk, an expertise the world leader in trade credit insurance has built up over decades. The Country Risk Atlas is based on a proprietary risk ratings

27 February 2024 – The weather forecast for the week still paints a worrying picture of continuous dryness in much of South Africa. There will likely be scattered light showers over the eastern regions during the week, which won’t make much difference in the deteriorating crop conditions because of excessive heat in the various areas

26 February 2024 – South Africa has seen 109 businesses close down in the first month of 2024, showing a massive 35% increase from the same time last year. According to Stats SA’s latest data on liquidations in the country, the total number of liquidations increased by 34.6% in January 2024 compared to January 2023.

23 February 2024 – South Africa’s economy is expected to grow at some 1.6% over the next three years, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reaching 0.6% in 2023. “Despite the improved global outlook for 2024, South Africa’s near-term growth remains hamstrung by lower commodity prices and structural constraints. We estimate real GDP growth of

21 February 2024 – Administrative chaos and shipping queues that last for days. These are just some of the hallmarks of South Africa’s major ports – from Cape Town through the Eastern Cape to Durban – all of which are experiencing backlogs and congestion that have seen tens of thousands of containers not reaching their

20 February 2024 – T he Ctrack Transport and Freight Index (Ctrack TFI) forecasts “another year of fairly subdued growth for the transport sector”. This is based on the assumption of mediocre economic growth in South Africa this year, forecast at 1.3%, up from 2023’s estimated 0.6%. The latest Ctrack TFI says real transport sector growth is expected to reach 3.7% for 2024, compared with

19 February 2024 – South Africa’s agricultural exports are under direct threat because of European Union farmers’ fears of being sidelined in favour of imports and declining subsidies for the sector. Recently EU farmers took to the streets to voice their concerns as they try to curtail the threat of imports. Thabile Nkunjana, senior economist

16 February 2024 – By 2027, Drewry estimates the global pool of containers will total more than 56 million TEUs, indicating an average annual growth of around 3%. This comes amidst a downturn in trade and the mass disposal of surplus equipment in 2023, which is expected to result in a 2% contraction in the

15 February 2024 – Industry organisation the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has expressed concern about some of the statements and assumptions in the Competition Commission’s announcement of a market inquiry into the poultry industry value chain. The commission on February 9 announced the market inquiry, saying it has reason to believe there are features