Agriculture
What’s new in Farmer’s Weekly?─── ELSABÉ RICHARD 05:00 Fri, 17 Mar 2023
The South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) expects table grape volumes inspected for exports to be 20% lower than they were last season.
It is also 11% lower than the first estimate made in October 2022.
According to the editor of Farmer’s Weekly, Janine Ryan, the latest estimate shows that about 63 million cartons will be inspected for export this season, with the upper and lower limits of this figure projected at 103% and 97% respectively.
In December, SATI reduced its original estimate due to unfavourable climatic conditions in various regions. Ryan adds that the estimate for the Orange River region was adjusted to 19.5 million cartons, down almost 30% from last season and 18% lower than the initial estimate.
The estimate for the northern region was revised to 5.1 million cartons, which is down 32% from the previous season.
Another story takes a look at the Expropriation Bill. Ryan shares that in a recent submission to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Agri SA reiterated that the adoption of the Bill would have a devastating impact on South Africa.
The organisation’s s executive director Christo van der Rheede says the watering down of property rights held dire consequences, as illustrated in the destruction in the Zimbabwe and Venezuelan economies.
The chairperson of Agri SA’s Centre of Excellence Willem de Chavonnes Vrugt told Farmer’s Weekly that the proposal will not only affect current landowners but put the future of sustainable and profitable agriculture at risk, with investors likely to be deterred by the Bill.
Furthermore, retail prices for ginger have sunk as low as R30/kg as rains have diminished the quality in larger volumes flow onto the market. Ryan said since prices for ginger shot up to around R300/kg during the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers planted more ginger, swinging the supply and demand curve towards lower prices.
A Mpumalanga ginger farmer says the market is correcting itself. He says due to the lower price, less ginger will be planted in the coming season.
Prices achieved in 2022 were far below average, dropping to R20/kg. Since late February this year, prices climbed to about R60/kg as volumes and quality was subdued because of the rain.
