There is rising optimism in South Africa’s farming sector

Loading player...
We continue to observe the rising optimism in South Africa’s farming and agribusiness sectors. For example, the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI), a sentiment indicator in the sector, increased by 10 points from Q3 to 58 in Q4. This is the second consecutive improvement, placing the ACI at its highest since Q2 2022.

This level of the ACI implies that South African agribusinesses remain generally optimistic about business conditions in the country. This optimism is a result of a combination of factors, including favourable weather conditions, with expectations that La Niña rains will be supportive of the 2024-25 agricultural season.

Moreover, the stable energy supply, improvements in port efficiency, and the better political climate following the formation of the Government of National Unity are some of the aspects the respondents cited as key factors underpinning their optimism.

Listen to the podcast for more insights.

Richard Humphries, Sam Mkokeli, and Amanda Murimba produce this podcast.
9 Dec 2024 English South Africa Investing · Food

Other recent episodes

SA agricultural conditions

We continue to receive encouraging notes about the prospects of La Niña in the 2025-26 summer season. The La Niña-induced rains will help support field crops, horticulture, and grazing veld for livestock. The farmers are optimistic and plan to increase area plantings, primarily of field crops. One aspect of the…
30 Nov 8 min

The G20 places a spotlight on the global hunger problem

About 720 million people continued to experience hunger in 2024, and 2.6 billion people were unable to afford healthy diets. It is this reality that compelled the G20 Leaders' Declaration in Johannesburg to shine a spotlight on global food insecurity challenges correctly. Countries can explore many interventions to resolve this…
23 Nov 9 min