12
e-Newsletter
14/18
20 April 2018
POLICY AND LEGISLATION

In terms of section 17(i) of the Perishable Products Export Control Act, 1983 (Act No.9 of 1983), the PPECB (Perishable Products Export Control Board) has reviewed the levies and tariffs imposed in respect of perishable products.
Grains are included in this list of products (ATTACHED) which may be exported from the Republic of South Africa.  These levies will be valid from 1 April 2018 until further notice -  More information»
AGRIBUSINESS RESEARCH

Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation decelerated to 3.5% in March 2018, from 3.9% in the previous month. This is the lowest levels since December 2013 - thanks to last season's robust crop output, as well as deceleration in meat price inflation. While there might be a slight uptick in the coming months in anticipation of the VAT and sugar tax effect, we expect the food and non-alcoholic beverages price inflation to remain at fairly low levels this year cushioned by a large grain stock from the current marketing year, as well as the expectation of a fairly good summer grain harvest.  Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz economist, provides more information in the linked update»
 
There has been a lot of writing on the land reform subject since December 2017 when the ruling party adopted the notion of expropriation without compensation. A number of analysts (ourselves included) warned of the unintended consequences of the aforementioned policy proposal. The abundance of thought-pieces on the negative outcomes of badly managed land acquisition programmes have not been matched by ideas of how to address them. Having reflected on the possible unintended consequences of expropriation without compensation, it is worth re-looking at some of the existing proposals that were never fully tested, as a means to facilitate land redistribution. A latest article on Daily Maverick by Wandile Sihlobo, Tinashe Kapuya and Theo Boshoff.
 
Some African countries are still  sceptical  about the health risks associated with Genetically Modified (GM) crops. However, farmers in the southern tip of the continent, South Africa, have long been planting GM crops for over a decade and there seem to be minimal health risks, but rather greater benefits in terms of yields and savings on inputs cost. Wandile Sihlobo shares more information in the linked blog post»

Click here to read the daily market view on commodities and the weekly wrap.  
OTHER NEWS
Climate-related risks dominated the rankings of the top five threats to global
prosperity in the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2018. From
hurricanes to wildfires, heatwaves, and droughts to prolonged floods, 2017 was
a record year for natural disasters with 31 billion-dollar weather events globally. The linked articles provide insights on three distinct areas of action: strategies for climate resilience, financing for climate resilience, and how to leverage risk management tools to increase climate resilience. 
Most firms remain unsure of the impact Brexit will have on their businesses. Understanding the initial set of "red tape" costs is essential for firms in their contingency and broader strategic planning. Click to peruse this very insightful article»
Agbiz congratulates Dr Tinashe Kapuya 

Agbiz congratulates, Tinashe Kapuya (Agbiz former trade economist and senior manager) for completing his PhD (Agricultural Economics) at the University of Pretoria. "Dr Kapuya's research work was key to our activities during his time at Agbiz. We wish him well in the years that lie ahead," said Dr John Purchase, Agbiz CEO.

Through IFAJ and the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), a bursary is available for an experienced agricultural journalist to take part in the first Arrell Food Summit - Read more»
UPCOMING EVENTS

IMPORTANT DATES
Closing date for registration: 10 May 2018
Congress: 7-8 June 2018
Welcome Function: 6 June 2018
Gala Dinner: 7 June 2018
Agbiz AGM: 8 June 2018


We look forward to seeing you at the 2018 Agbiz Congress. Follow all the latest about the 2018 Agbiz Congress and join the conversation on social media by posting and tweeting using the official congress hashtag #AGBIZcongress18 
Farmer's Weekly tour to AgriTech tour to Israel
6-11 May 2018
More information: Marianna du Plessis, email [email protected]

NAMPO 
15-18 May 2017 | NAMPO Park | Bothaville 
More information

21 to 25 May 2018 | South Africa
The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), The World Academy of Sciences Regional Office for sub-Saharan Africa (TWAS-ROSSA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) are seeking candidates to participate in the inaugural regional training workshop on science diplomacy to be held in South Africa.  More information

World Potato Congress
27-31 May 2018 | Peru | South America

Potatoes SA Transformation Symposium
7 June 2018 | Pretoria
More information

4th Annual Competition and Economic Regulation (ACER) week
16-20 July 2018 | Johannesburg
More information»

Vision 2030 Summit
20-21 June 2018 | Emperors Palace | Gauteng
More information

IFAMA World Conference
23-27 June 2018 | Buenos Aires | Argentina
More information

Regional Trade Facilitation Forum for grain stakeholders in the Eastern & Southern Africa region
28 June 2018 | Lusaka | Zambia
The Forum is expected to convene sellers and buyers of grain commodities from the Southern and Eastern Africa regions to network and execute trade deals.
Invitation letter
Programme
Registration form

FW Agribusiness Africa Conference
18-19 July 2018 | Emperors Palace
Enquiries: Marianna du Plessis, e-mail  [email protected]

PMA Fresh Connections Southern Africa Conference and Tradeshow
15-16 August, 2018 |  CSIR | Pretoria
Enquiries: Petrie Vogel, e-mail: [email protected]

Agbiz Grain Symposium
22 August 2018 | Pretoria
Enquiries: Mariana Purnell, e-mail [email protected]

AGRI 5 Commodities Workshop & Expo
Date: 20th -21st September 2018
Venue: East London Show Grounds
Contact info: 011 056 6856

56th Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA)
25-27 September 2018 | Lord Charles Hotel | Somerset-West

Agbiz membership
Being a member of Agbiz provides various benefits and opportunities

- Agbiz is the only organisation that serves the broader and common over-arching business interests of agribusinesses in South Africa.
- Agbiz addresses the legislative and policy environment on the many fronts that it impacts on the agribusiness environment.
- Agbiz facilitates considerable top-level networking opportunities so that South African agribusinesses can play an active and creative role within the local and international organised business environment.
- Agbiz research provides sector specific information for informed decision making.
- Agbiz newsletter publishes members' press releases and member product announcements.

Third-party website links to this newsletter
The Agbiz Newsletter may contain a few links to websites that belong to third parties unrelated to us.  By making these links available, we are not endorsing third-party websites, their content, products, services or their events.  Agbiz seeks to protect the integrity of its newsletter and links placed upon it, and therefore welcomes any feedback.
In this newsletter