2 October 2024 – Tens of thousands of dockworkers have gone on strike indefinitely at ports across much of the US, threatening significant trade and economic disruption ahead of the presidential election and the busy holiday shopping season. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) walked out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the […]

27 September 2024 – Agriculture leaders see considerable potential for red meat exports and the export of live animals to the Middle East, especially from the Eastern Cape. Brent McNamara, CEO of Agri Eastern Cape, recently told the national executive of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation that South Africa had exported 17 loads of B-grade

26 September 2024 – Stabilised container throughput week-on-week has been confirmed by the latest box handling data contained in the Cargo Movement Update (CUM) compiled by the South African Association of the Freight Forwarders (Saaff) and Business Unity SA (Busa). An average of 7 939 containers were handled per day, essentially the same as last

18 September 2024 – The Agbiz/IDC Agricultural Business Confidence Index has recovered by ten points after experiencing a sharp decline to its lowest level since the 2009 global financial crisis in the second quarter of 2024. According to a report released by the Agricultural Business Chamber, the index increased by ten points to reach 48

15 September 2024 – Fitch Ratings has affirmed South Africa’s default rating at BB- with a stable outlook thanks to the country’s favourable debt structure and progress on reforms. It has however noted that the country’s rating is constrained by low real GDP growth, a high level of poverty and inequality, a high government debt/GDP

13 September 2024 –   A stronger rand and robust growth in production by key global suppliers, such as Brazil, could see the average price of chicken products increase by just over 1% this year in some instances, financial services firm Absa’s ‘AgriTrends Report Spring edition’ shows. Poultry price increases are expected to ease, after double-digit

12 September 2024 – Major United States container ports are expected to have another busy month in September ahead of a potential labour strike at the country’s East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. This is according to the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates’ Global Port Tracker report released on Monday. “This is a critical

11 September 2024 – Africa’s major agricultural imports largely consist of products for which the continent lacks a revealed comparative advantage (RCA), with notable exceptions being sugars and sugar confectionery and tobacco substitutes. According to the Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) Report 2024, the top ten imported product categories make up 81% of Africa’s total

10 September 2024 – Global goods trade continued to recover in the third quarter after demand for traded goods stalled in 2023 amid high inflation and rising interest rates, according to the latest WTO Goods Trade Barometer. But despite the positive signal from the barometer index, the outlook for trade remains highly uncertain due to

06 September 2024 – There is growing demand for specialised warehousing within a free trade zone environment. Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZs) are special free trade zones (FTZs), providing value-added services such as packing management, sorting, inspection, reinvoicing, strapping and kitting, and assembly of complete and semi-knocked-down kits. The global market for FTWZ logistics is