12
e-Newsletter
03/18
26 January 2018
POLICY AND LEGISLATION

Ten midde van die politieke onsekerheid in die land, moet landbouers heelwat ander uitdagings ook bestuur. Daar is verskeie opinies oor wat vanjaar in terme van grond, water en lone gaan gebeur, maar wat sê die wet? Theo Boshoff van Agbiz het hieroor met Grootplaas #KykNet gesels.  Kyk en luister hier na die gesprek»
ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE
SA food producer price inflation ticked up slightly to 1.0% y/y

The headline food producer price inflation for December 2017 edged up slightly to 1.0% y/y from 0.9% y/y in the previous month. Similarly to November, meat and dairy products continued to be the key drivers of the uptick. Meanwhile, producer price inflation for foods such as starches, sugar, fruits and vegetables slowed on a monthly basis. Apart from higher live animals' prices, agricultural commodity prices are still relatively low, which is keeping the food producer price inflation at lower levels. Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz economist provides more information in the  linked update»
SA food price inflation slows to 4.9%

Food inflation for December 2017 was in line with our expectation at 4.9% y/y, from 5.2% in November 2017. This is reflective of the current lower agricultural commodity prices, which in turn, have been pressured by a large harvest from the 2016/17 production season. We expect this trend to persist in the short term cushioned by the relatively large stock from the previous season, despite the fears of dryness in the western parts of the country. Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz economist provides more information in the  linked update»

Click here to read the daily market view on commodities and the weekly wrap.  
INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT INTEL

In the first eleven months of 2017, South Africa imported a total of 461 thousand tons of chicken. This is down by 7 percent when compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. During this period the Americas, that is, Brazil and the United States, were the key suppliers accounting for more than two thirds of the imports. Trailing the Americas was Europe which accounted for 15 percent of the market share.  Sifiso Ntombela, Agbiz Head: International Trade and Investment,  provides more information in the linked update»
OTHER NEWS
Timbali's partnership with the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and the Jobs Fund will soon lead to the opening of a state-of-the-art, GlobalGAP accredited pack house in Nwanedi, Limpopo Province. It will open its doors early in 2018, giving 150 small farmers access to export, local and retail markets (115 permanent jobs, 900 short term and 400 seasonal permanent jobs will be created). Read more»
Some practical applications in agriculture include improving food safety, making the food supply chain more democratic and efficient, authenticizing agri-inputs and making land title registering more accessible.  The rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum has taken the financial industry by storm. However, irrespective of what the future holds for bitcoin and its peers. The underlying technology blockchain will most certainly survive and is bound to make inroads in every sector - Read more»
There are no cashiers or registers anywhere. Shoppers leave the store through gates without pausing to pull out a credit card. Their account automatically gets charged for what they take out the door - Read more»
UPCOMING EVENTS
2 018 Agbiz Congress - Registration now open

The Agbiz Congress is one of the major events on the food, fibre and beverage sectors' agenda of South Africa and a premier agribusiness networking opportunity where business leaders and policy makers meet to shape the future of the broader South African agro-food industry.  

CEOs, senior management and board members, as well as key delegates from government, producer organisations, processors, academia and various other major role players in the southern African agriculture and agro-food industry are expected to attend the congress.

Various top international and local experts will address key issues such as the global agro-food environment we operate in, the global and local political economy, and environmental challenges the sectors face. Furthermore, the key issues of land and water reform confronting South Africa and its agriculture system, and the impact technology will have on the competitiveness of South Africa's industries, will be addressed. 

Important dates
Agbiz Congress: 7-8 June 2018
Welcome Function: 6 June 2018
Gala Dinner: 7 June 2018
Agbiz AGM: 8 June 2018

Before the end of January, you will receive an invitation e-mail provided your credentials are in our contact list.  If you have not received an invite by 1 February, please contact Natalie van Harte at the following email:  admin@agbiz.co.za .

We encourage you to visit the congress website regularly for updated congress information. To obtain more information, please  click here»
 


All our sponsors are important  to the success of this prestigious event.  Please
click here to see who our confirmed congress sponsors are.
Intellectual Property and South African Seed Legislation Workshop
13 February 2018 | Pretoria 
15 February 2018 |Cape Town

Skills Development Summit
15-16 February 2018 | CSIR | Pretoria

SABS workshops in developing a National Standards Development Agreement (SDA) for the Agro-processing Sector
19 - 21 February 2018
More information»

Africa Energy Indaba Conference & Exhibition
20 - 21 February 2018  I  Sandton Convention Centre

Agbiz AgriBEE Information Session
21 February 2018 - Pretoria
22 February 2018 - Cape Town
More information will follow soon

Agbiz Information Session
1 March 2018 | Pretoria
More information will follow soon

Undercover Farming Expo
7-8 March 2018 | CSIR | Pretoria
Enquiries: suzanne@pop.co.za

Landbouweekblad konferensie
Herlewingslandbou is boere se kostedoeltreffende wapen teen stygende insetkoste en klimaatsverandering
19-20 March 2017 | Reitz

GOSA Symposium 2018
22-23 March 2018 | Mossel Bay
More information

International Sorghum Conference 
9-12 April 2018 | Cape Town
More information

21 to 25 May 2018
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
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