Agricultural Business Chamber

Agribusiness Chamber sees price relief ahead
Business Day, 30 January 2012

EXPECTED higher agricultural product prices this season could bring about some relief for food producers, the Agriculture Business Chamber said last week. Releasing the agribusiness outlook for this year, the chamber’s economic intelligence manager, Lindie Stroebel, said a major concern was that agriculture had shown signs of contraction since the start of last year. However, this was in line with the international economy remaining fragile, as the European Union’s sovereign debt crisis remained unresolved, and prospects still appeared gloomy. Read more»

Floods and Food prices: Consumers set to dig even deeper

Business Live, 28 January 2012

Consumers will continue to pay more for food because of high international commodity prices - but not because of shortages resulting from heavy rains which are destroying summer crops and damaging farming infrastructure in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. ''Yes, some of the crops such as tomatoes, green peppers and subtropical fruits and vegetables will be affected, but not other crops like maize and wheat. The reason we are paying high prices is because of rising input costs such as energy, labour and logistics," said John Purchase, CEO at the AgriBusiness Chamber. Read more»

CEO Forum addresses critical issues in the Agri Sector
25 January 2012

The 1st CEO Forum Steering Committee meeting for 2012 kicked off this past week with a commitment from the Director General (DG) of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to engage regularly and more pro-actively with industry during 2012. The DG also indicated government’s concerns around employment in the sector, as well as concerns on high food prices, and that both issues needed to be addressed by government and industry in partnership. Click here to read critical issues addressed in the meeting»

The following presentations are available to download:

Climate Change: COP17 Outcomes»

Progress on the Water Quality Task Team»

Agribusiness ripe to reap
Business Live, 23 January 2012

South African agribusinesses are well positioned to seize opportunities in developing countries as uncertainty in developed economies seems set to continue, said Agricultural Business Chamber head economist Lindie Stroebel. Read more»

Summary of DAFF’s R&D Policy Workshop
20 January 2012

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) hosted a Research and Development Policy Workshop in Pretoria last week in which the ABC, through the National Agricultural Research Forum (NARF), also participated and contributed. Debate on this very important issue is long overdue and generally welcomed by industry, given the declining real funding by government of public agricultural research and the severe loss of experienced scientists from public research institutions. The NARF has long called for the establishment of a National Agricultural Research System that fully encompasses the multi-stakeholder and multi-role player nature of agricultural research in South Africa, and developed the National Agricultural Research and Development Strategy (NARDS) in this regard. NARDS was adopted by the then Department of Agriculture, but never implemented. The Innovation Hub facilitated the workshop and produced a Summary of R&D Workshop Outcomes for perusal. Further engagement in this R&D policy development process will follow.

Outlook and expectations on the environment impacting on agribusinesses in 2012
ABC media release, 20 January 2012

The South African agribusinesses expect various challenges in 2012. The ABC constructed a brief overview of the outlook and expectations on the environment impacting on agribusinesses, as well as the major issues to be considered. Read more»

Technology hides crisis in farming sector, says expert

Business day, 17 January 2012

Agricultural Research Council CEO Shadrack Moephuli says agricultural productivity increases have masked the sharp decline in the number of farmers in SA and that the sector is in a "crisis" ...

Agricultural Business Chamber CEO John Purchase yesterday disagreed that the sector was in crisis. "There are concerns in the industry for it to remain competitive," he said, citing agro-logistics, technology, energy security, water quality and attracting skills to the sector as concerns. Read more»

Food price hikes to bite at festive cheer
Independent Online, 12 December 2011

Festive season consumers will pay higher prices for food, including chicken, meat and vegetables... CEO of the Agricultural Business Chamber, John Purchase, warned at a recent COP17 briefing that the effects of climate change on food security could be the biggest shock yet and that the days of cheap food were gone. Read more»

Confidence down sharply in agribusiness sector
Business Day, 2 December 2011

The drop in confidence reflects the view by agribusinesses that economic growth in SA would decrease in both the short and long term. CONFIDENCE in the agribusiness sector dropped sharply to just about 50 in the last quarter of this year, according to the latest quarterly agribusiness confidence index released yesterday. The manager of economic intelligence and finance at the Agricultural Business Chamber, Lindie Stroebel, said confidence in this quarter was 7% lower than at the end of last year and 10% lower than in the preceding quarter. Read more»

Invitation to participate in Cochran Fellowship Program
The US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is seeking eligible candidates throughout South Africa to participate in the Cochran Fellowship Program for 2012.

The Cochran Fellowship Program provides U.S.-based agricultural training opportunities for senior and mid-level specialists and administrators from public and private sectors who are concerned with agricultural trade, agribusiness development, management, policy, and marketing.
Invitation letter
Application form

Agribusiness Public-Private Dialogue Declaration

At the recently held Agribusiness Forum in Johannesburg, the Agribusiness Public-Private Declaration was adopted by participants. The ABC was consulted on the document and made certain proposals that were adopted. To peruse the declaration, please click on Agribusiness Public-Private Declaration»

10 February