The organisation was established in 1946 as the Co-operative Council to represent the interests of agricultural co-operatives.
In 1995, after the deregulation of agriculture in South Africa, the organisation adopted the name Agricultural Co-operative Business (ACB) to address the changing needs of agribusinesses.
In 2003 the name changed to the Agricultural Business Chamber (ABC).
The move to a fully autonomous and independent association in 2010 was an exceptional milestone for the Agricultural Business Chamber.
At the 2012 Congress the association was relaunched as Agbiz. The slogan “The way to prosperity” describes the Agbiz brand promise. ‘Prosperity’ is a super ordinate term for words such as flourish, thrive, progress, growth, success, affluent, promising, improvement, advancement and wealth. ‘Prosperity’ allows for others to benefit, for example job creation, development of advanced technology to increase productivity and investment. ‘Way’ refers to the Agbiz strategic imperative of advocating and facilitating a favourable environment for all agribusinesses in South Africa, and even further abroad.
Agbiz Grain, a fully-fledged and dedicated desk under Agbiz, was established in November 2014 by the twelve largest commercial grain handling and storage companies in South Africa. The incorporation of Grain Silo Industry (GSI) enhances the vision of expanding the client base of commercial grain storage owners, increasing membership, reducing member costs and growth opportunities.
In a step towards enhancing collaboration with government, the South African wine and brandy industry launched the WineBiz desk, in 2015. This strategic service operates under the auspices of the industry organisations VinPro and Salba (SA Liquor Brandowners’ Association), from the offices of Agbiz. Its main focus is strengthening relationships with various national government departments and related stakeholders on key issues such as water and land reform, transformation, trade facilitation and market access, while promoting the image of the South African wine and brandy industry.
A dedicated fruit desk – Agbiz Fruit – is a joint initiative between Agbiz and Fruit SA and was established in January 2019. The fruit desk is funded jointly by the South African Table Grape Industry (SATI), Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA), Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF), Hortgro, and Fruit SA. The purpose of the desk is to create awareness of the unique challenges experienced by the South African fruit sector; ensure representation at a high level of policy and trade engagement; stay on top of national and global developments; and ensure that opportunities are maximised.