After the sharp increase in the first quarter of 2024, South Africa's agricultural exports fell slightly on a year-on-year (y/y) basis in the second quarter. According to data from Trade Map, the country's agricultural exports were at US$3.37bn in the second quarter, a 0,1% decline relative to the same period last year.

This comes after growth of 6% y/y in the first quarter of the year. The slight decrease in the second quarter reflects the moderation in the prices of some agricultural products and the decline in the volumes.

The top exported products by value include citrus, apples and pears, maize, wine, dates, pineapples, avocados, sugar, grapes, fruit juices, nuts, and wool.

Notably, while the value of the exports is down mildly from the second quarter of 2023, the efficiency at the ports this year was arguably much better than what the stakeholders experienced in 2023.

This again shows that the decline in export value is largely due to lower prices of some commodities and a decline in volumes after a challenging domestic production environment, specifically in grains and oilseed.

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Podcast production by Richard Humphries, and Sam Mkokeli

My writing on agricultural economic matters is available on my blog: https://wandilesihlobo.com/ Wandile Sihlobo website