Agbiz elects office bearers
Agbiz last week elected its office bearers for 2016-2018 at a Members Meeting held in Somerset West, Cape Town.
Mr Schalk Pienaar was re-elected as chairperson, Mr Danie Marias, MD of NWK Limited, was re-elected as deputy chairperson and Dr Langa Simela of ABSA AgriBusiness was re-elected as second deputy chairperson of Agbiz.
The other members of the Agbiz Executive Committee are Mr Sean Walsh, MD of Kaap Agri and Mr Francois Strydom, MD of Senwes.
Dr John Purchase, chief executive officer of Agbiz, serves on the Executive Committee as ex officio member.
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Economic and agribusiness intelligence
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Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index remains low
The Agbiz/IDC Confidence Index in the first quarter of 2016 (Q1, 2016) was 42.87 points, which was a further contraction from the fourth quarter of 2015 (Q4, 2015) level of 42.91 points. The contraction is even larger when considered from a year-on-year perspective, with Q1, 2016 being 15% lower than Q1, 2015, the latter being the last time the index was above 50 points. This means that South Africa's agribusiness sector is still holding a largely pessimistic view regarding business conditions since mid-2015. More information
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South African agricultural sector remains in recession
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Growth rates by sector
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The first quarter real GDP figures (Q1, 2016) released by Statistics South Africa came out worse than market expectations. They reflected a contraction of -1.2% quarter-on-quarter (q/q) due to weakening economic activity in the mining, electricity, transport and agriculture sector. Read more in the linked article written by Agbiz economists. |
Wheat tariffs must fit SA's context
"Trade policy debates are incomplete if argued without due consideration on the effect of selected instruments on both the consumption and production side," said Wandile Sihlobo, economist at Agbiz, in a column published in Business Day this week. Read more� |
Daily market viewpoint on agri-commodities
South Africa is very much integrated into a dynamic global market, which is characterised by rapid changes. To support decision makers in this environment, Agbiz members receive daily commentaries on agricultural commodity markets and macro-economic trends via e-mail. The latest and historic commentaries are available on the Agbiz website www.agbiz.co.za |