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Insights on South Africa's consumer food price inflation data for February 2023 - a brief analysis
South Africa's consumer food price inflation accelerated mildly to 14% y/y in February 2023 from 13,8% in the previous month. The food product prices that increased notably were meat; milk, eggs and c.....
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New national minimum wage an outlier
From an economic point of view, labour is a production input which, along with other production inputs, plant and property determine the production costs. Labour is, however, not merely a cost calcula.....
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Agricultural fortunes in 2022
After a solid performance of 8,8% y/y in 2021, we thought South Africa's agricultural gross value added would contract mildly in 2022. But the data released today by Statistics South Africa paints a s.....
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Highlights on energy matters from various government speeches
The energy challenges of agriculture were highlighted in various speeches this past week. First, the 2023 Budget Speech by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana outlined the implementation of the refund o.....
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SA agriculture exports showed resilience in 2022 despite headwinds
This data is particularly encouraging since 2022 presented various challenges to South Africa's agriculture. At the start of the year, logistical challenges in the ports of Cape Town disrupted the exp.....
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Very encouraging tractor sales in South Africa
I have been closely following South Africa's monthly tractors sales data, and the results continue to surprise me. Since April 2020, the monthly sales have remained positive, registering an average of.....
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Agricultural finance is key to South Africa's inclusive agricultural growth agenda
We have spent the past couple of months in South Africa's agriculture drafting the growth strategy that would take the sector to greater heights than the gains we have seen since 1994. The sector has .....
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Valuation, the role of the OVG and a formulistic approach to applying section 25(3) of the Constitution
The origins of the Office of the Valuer-General (OVG) lie in the 2011 draft Green Paper on Land Reform. The OVG was supposed to provide fair and consistent land values for rating and taxing purposes, .....
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Thinking about KwaZulu-Natal's agriculture and food production in this time of crisis
What we witnessed in KwaZulu-Natal over the past couple of days is heartbreaking – the loss of lives and the destruction of communities and businesses are unbearable. As President Cyril Ramaphosa po.....
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South Africa’s winter crop season to start soon
South Africa had a fairly good production season in 2021/22 with wheat at 2,3 million tonnes, which is the largest harvest in 20 years and record yield in some crops such as canola and oats. The large.....
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