The government has an interest in ensuring the agricultural sector is profitable, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Tuesday. "As government, we have an interest in ensuring the industry becomes profitable and continues to grow," he said. Speaking at the end of a "dialogue" with farmers and commercial farming organisations in the Western Cape town of Paarl, he stressed the importance of the farming sector remaining competitive internationally. "The point is... how do we draw back the value chain and ensure that we remain competitive?" Motlanthe said.

 

Earlier, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said farmers and the government needed to start talking about export value chains. "A huge part of the production here in South Africa is ending up in somebody else's pocket," he said. Among issues raised by those at the dialogue was the recent increase in the minimum farm workers' wage to R105 a day, the quality of water available to farmers, increasing electricity costs, and transport infrastructure such as roads. The dialogue comes two days before President Jacob Zuma delivers his 2013 state-of-the-nation address in Parliament. Motlanthe was accompanied by Davies, Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, her deputy Marius Fransman, and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti. The event - billed as "a dialogue with the farming sector for the advancement of sustainable rural development and social cohesion" - follows a period of violent farm worker strikes across rural regions of the Western Cape, and the announcement by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant last week of a rise in the minimum farm wage from R69 to R105 a day.

 

Agbiz was represented by Dr John Purchase who cautioned government that spiralling production costs, including labour and other administered pricing, are increasingly undermining South Africa's competitiveness on global markets and if this trend continued, would have a disastrous effect on agriculture and agribusiness in South Africa. He called on government to  take the initiated "dialogue" much further to ensure a constructive engagement in addressing the constraints and barriers impacting negatively on the broader industry.

 

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address on Thursday should focus on implementation of the government's National Development Plan (NDP), Business Unity SA (BUSA) said on Monday.   

 

The poultry sector should come together and approach the Department of Trade and Industry if it wants relief in the form of trade measures or other measures against imports of chicken meat, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, said on Tuesday.

 

Speaking at an engagement by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe with farmers in the Western Cape, Davies said there was no consistent message coming from those in the poultry sector, with some wanting to import chicken and others not, making it difficult for his department to take action.  He said chicken imports from Brazil were increasing despite anti-dumping duties.  Read article»  

  

This issue:

* Legislative Roundup: Business-related bills currently tabled at Parliament.
* The State of the Nation Address:  What business wants.
* Budget Speech 2013.
* All Bills at Parliament.  

 

 

  

This issue of the NAMC's South African Fruit Trade Flow provides more insight into the citrus fruit, table grape and stone fruit seasons.  The performance of these fruits on both export and domestic markets is analysed and compared to that of the previous season. The global production of these fruits is also assessed and South Africa's global production and export rankings are determined.  

 

  

This issue of TradeProbe covers the following topics:   

* Market profile of Olive Oil, virgin
*Trade profile of potatoes   * Agricultural trade between South Africa and the rest of Africa, and
* The Western Cape farm workers' strike and summer fruit exports: how significant could the impact be? This publication is a joint initiative by the NAMC and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) (more specifically the Directorate: International Trade).

 

 

5 - 7 March 2013 | St George Hotel & Convention Centre | Pretoria

Theme: Applying technology for sustainability

8 - 10 March 2013 | Mentors Country Estate | Jeffreys Bay

Bien Donné Agri Cape Week  

17 - 20 April 2013 | Simmondium | Western Cape

For more information contact Marianna du Plessis at 082 337 6127 or email: africa@agrimega.co.za 

23 May 2013 | Sandton Convention Centre | Sandton

The 2nd Annual Agribusiness Indaba will cover initiatives that rolled out by the organisations to recognize the agriculture sector as one of South Africa's greatest Agriculture assets that can be sustained and preserved. For more information contact Gilly Ramalekana at e-mail: Gilly.Ramalekana@abn360.com