The department's spokesperson, Zandisile Luphahla, adds that following the outbreaks of FMD in the North West and the Free State, the Northern Cape placed its officials on high alert and conducted targeted surveillance at known places of animal congregation. He says MEC Mase Manopole urges farmers in the province to maintain their vigilance.

The South African Department of Trade and Competition has filed a request for a consultation with the European Union and the World Trade Organisation regarding the decision to implement new regulations on the importation of South African oranges into the EU. Eurofruit's Fred Meintjes reports that the new EU regulations were published last month despite fierce South African opposition, which claimed the regulations were “unjustified, unfair, impossible to comply with, and not based on proven science”. OFM News' Elsabé Richard-May reports Meintjes further adds that the Citrus Growers Association's CEO, Justin Chadwick, has confirmed the association had received reports of containers being detained, in some cases not only oranges, but other citrus containers as well.

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South Africa’s consumer food price inflation accelerated to 9% year-on-year last month, from 7.8% in the previous month. This was the fastest pace since February 2017. The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) shares that there was an overall increase across the food basket, except for fruit which moderated somewhat. It further adds that this broader uptick in the consumer food price inflation largely mirrors the increase that has been witnessed in the global agricultural commodity prices and the domestic market. According to Agbiz, South Africa will likely remain an exception from the world, with food price inflation contained at relatively lower levels than most regions of the world that have consumer food price inflation hovering at over 10% year-on-year.



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