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Agriculture News

Egypt seeking to increase trade and investment ties with South Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 29th March 2019 Egyptian Ambassador to South Africa Sherif Eissa has called for more bilateral trade and investment between his country, as well as closer political cooperation. He was addressing the recent South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) and Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) Trade... →

Sugar industry job loss claims are premature – Treasury

By: African News Agency 28th March 2019 The South African Canegrowers Association recently claimed that the sugar tax has cost the industry R925-million in the 2018/19 season, while the DA has claimed that over 1000 jobs had already been lost due to the tax. But National Treasury’s Mpho Legote said that any current estimates are... →

South Africa's 2019 maize crop seen down 16% on drought conditions

By: Reuters 25th March 2019 South Africa is likely to harvest 16% less maize in 2019 compared with the previous season after drought delayed plantings, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. The government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC), which will provide its second production forecast for the 2019 crop on Tuesday, is seen... →

Company positive in flat construction market

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd March 2019 Despite there being no capital expenditure on projects in the construction sector, construction equipment supplier SANY GM Barry Owen says the company sees good opportunity to grow the SANY brand in a rather stagnant market. →

BARRY OWEN Over-capacitated construction sector under extreme pressure owing to oversupply

Growth strategy prompts innovation

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd March 2019 Technologies design, production and marketing company Tesmec Group is constantly improving, adapting and evolving its machine concepts. Owing to its pursuit of a “glocal” growth strategy, this means that Tesmec is global, but at the same time they have a local presence in strategic areas of the... →

GOING GLOCAL Tesmec seeks to expand local presence in the most strategic areas of the world

Bobcat positive ahead of elections

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd March 2019 While the fragmentation occurring in the mining and construction industries – where major contracts are being awarded to smaller empowered startups without major track records or even assets – is cause for concern, meaningful change is likely to emerge after the national election in May. →

EARTHFORCE Bobcat aims to meet the requirement for quality, lower-cost machines

Construction industry expected to grow over next three years

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd March 2019 Despite there being a slowdown in projects for the past few years in the construction industry, power generation equipment developer Himoinsa Southern Africa business development director Matthew Bell says the company expects positive growth over the next 12 to 36 months. →

BESPOKE DESIGNS Himoinsa is investing significantly in its generator and lighting tower designs for specific local requirements

Public-Private Growth Initiative identifies 18 ‘priority projects’ to unlock growth

By: Terence Creamer 18th March 2019 The Public-Private Growth Initiative (PPGI), an evolving sector-based collaboration between government and business, has earmarked 18 projects across various sectors of the South African economy for priority implementation in the coming months. Minister in the Presidency Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma... →

Minister in The Presidency Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma speaks, while Dr Johan van Zyl, Mpumi Mpofu and Roelf Meyer listen

The BioCycle aims to turn human waste into lubricants, biodiesel

By: Irma Venter 18th March 2019 The BioCycle plans to have completed the design of its first South African commercial scale facility by the end of 2020, to be followed by a global rollout of the technology, says MultiCycle director Marc Lewis. The BioCycle aims to develop commercially viable and scalable processes for the... →

Zimbabwe currency crisis robs Bell of record year

By: Irma Venter 18th March 2019 A new currency regime in Zimbabwe robbed Bell Equipment of a record financial year, giving the company a R87.4-million “ankle-tap that went straight to the bottom line”, said CEO Leon Goosen on Monday. “It happened right at the end of the year. It’s incredibly sad.” →

Agribusiness confidence index rises to 46 in the first quarter

By: Marleny Arnoldi 18th March 2019 The Agbiz/Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Agribusiness Confidence Index has improved by four points to 46 in the first quarter of this year. This follows a decline in the last quarter of 2018 to 42, which was the index’s lowest level since 2009. →

Convicted fraudster seeks to stop parliamentary processes aimed at removing him as Icasa chair

By: News24Wire 18th March 2019 Fraud and money-laundering convict Rubben Mohlaloga will not only be fighting to stay out of prison but to also remain chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa). Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment last month but currently on bail pending an appeal of his... →

China a potential market for South African avos as other markets mull import bans

By: Simone Liedtke 15th March 2019 The South African avocado market faces the threat of a possible ban in future, particularly in the UK, which is reportedly getting rid of avocados on ethical grounds, says economist Gilberto Biacuana. The UK is the second most important market for South Africa’s avocado exports, which means that... →

Egyptian business giving great importance to South Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 15th March 2019 The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) was in full support of the policy of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to strengthen the country’s relations with the rest of Africa. “As a business community, we will endorse our Government’s role in Africa,” affirmed FEI African Cooperation... →

Photo by Egyptian Petrochemical Company
An Egyptian petrochemical plant

Equipment supplier to spread its wings outside South Africa

By: Mamaili Mamaila 15th March 2019 Industrial equipment supplier Vermeer will attend The Solar Show Africa 2019 which is combined with the 2019 Power and Electricity World Africa (PEWA) conference at the Sandton Convention Centre on March 26 and 27, 2019. →

SITES ON AFRICA Vermeer aims to penetrate the renewable-energy market in Africa

Grain conveyor solution system offered

15th March 2019 Heavy lift forklift supplier BLT World offers dependable solutions for specific problems at the transfer points of conveyor systems in bulk materials handling, such as grain in the food and beverage industry. “ScrapeTec Trading’s German-engineered products have been specially developed for the... →

Movement calls for Brazilian chicken import ban

By: Thabi Madiba 15th March 2019 Following the recall by a Brazilian producer of more than 450 t of chicken because of potential salmonella contamination last month, nonprofit trade advocacy movement FairPlay founder Francois Baird says the South African government has to ban Brazilian chicken imports until all producers can... →

Photo by Bloomberg
CHICKEN FOOT CHICKEN BASE Brazil now accounts for more than 60% of South Africa’s chicken imports, while local producers claim imports are not necessary at all

TymeBank goes live in Pick n Pay and Boxer stores

15th March 2019 Last month, South Africa’s first fully licensed digital bank TymeBank went live in 500 stores of supermarket chain store Pick n Pay and discount supermarket Boxer in preparation for its formal launch. This followed a successful soft launch in December when the bank went live in 20 Pick n Pay and... →

CUSTOMER CARE A TymeBank customer will be able to earn Smart Shopper points anywhere when they use their TymeBank card to make a purchase.

SA farmers turning to technology to boost yields and financial resilience

By: Marleny Arnoldi 15th March 2019 Amid a challenging economic climate in South Africa, as well as prevailing drought in some provinces, emerging and commercial farmers have become price-conscious and focused on optimising operations to remain competitive, says Afgri Equipment branch manager Riaan Muller. Industry body Agri SA’s... →

South Africa sugar tax to cut industry revenues, prompt reform – USDA

By: Reuters 14th March 2019 South Africa's sugar tax could slash industry revenues and prompt restructuring of the country's sugar sector, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report published on Wednesday. The tax, introduced last April, has slashed the beverage sector's use of sugar by 30%, the USDA attache... →

Ten worst South African performers tell tale of battling economy

By: Bloomberg 13th March 2019 It’s not even the end of the first quarter and already there’s a plethora of once-significant South African companies that have either collapsed or had their share prices hit the wall. The likes of sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, tech provider EOH Holdings, Blue Label Telecoms and Aspen Pharmacare... →

Shares in Tongaat fall to lowest level since 1993

By: Reuters 11th March 2019 Shares in Tongaat Hulett fell more than 14% early on Monday, after its announcement last week that it had appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to review past accounting practices. The sugar producer, which flagged last month that it would fall to a full-year loss, traded at its lowest level since... →

African seed companies outperform international peers

By: Nadine James 7th March 2019 Two African seed companies top the 2019 Access to Seeds Index for Eastern and Southern Africa, owing to their playing a key role in raising smallholder farmer productivity, the Amsterdam-based Access to Seeds Foundation reported on Thursday. The foundation’s newly released research stated that... →

York expects lower H1 earnings

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th March 2019 JSE-listed York Timber expects its earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) to decrease to between 19.4c and 20.7c for the six months ended December 31, 2018, compared with the 28c reported for the six months ended December 31, 2017. The company attributed the lower... →

Winemakers open new African frontier with Drakensberg vines

By: Bloomberg 6th March 2019 South Africa’s wine industry is centered around Cape Town. But pioneers far to the northeast are forging a new frontier in unlikely surroundings as changing weather patterns test long-held conventions. Cathedral Peak wine estate’s vines grow in the foothills of the Central Drakensberg, or “Dragon... →

Packaging company drives waste-free economy

By: Halima Frost 1st March 2019 The idea of a circular economy is now starting to pique interest in the packaging industry, although the mechanism of biodegradability has been operational for hundreds of millions of years, says GREEN HOME Food Packaging MD and owner Catherine Morris. The concept highlights the way in which the... →

CATHERINE MORRIS A waste-free world is a possibility for the future

New technologies set to transform global food chain in next five years – IBM

By: Schalk Burger 1st March 2019 Information technology multinational IBM predicts that technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and cloud, will help to transform the global food chain over the next five years, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software senior VP Arvind Krishna says.... →

ARVIND KRISHNA IBM unveiled five solutions in February to improve the food chain and food security

Dubai scientists grow super crops that thrive in salty deserts

By: Bloomberg 28th February 2019 Scientists in Dubai are developing crops like quinoa that can thrive in the salty soils intruding into the world’s croplands. Winning over enough people to eat them is proving a greater challenge. At an experimental farm within sight of the world’s tallest skyscraper, researchers at the... →

South Africa's 2019 maize crop seen 20% lower after drought delays plantings

By: Reuters 26th February 2019 South Africa is likely to harvest 20 percent less maize in 2019 compared with the previous season after drought conditions delayed plantings in some corn growing areas, a Reuters poll of five traders and market analysts showed on Tuesday. The government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC), which... →

South African Canegrowers Association to brief Parliament committee on sugar industry crisis

By: African News Agency 25th February 2019 The South African Canegrowers Association said on Monday it would brief Parliament's trade and industry portfolio committee on the crisis facing the sugar industry due to drought, falling prices and the impact of cheap imports, among others. The association had sent a letter to the committee's... →

Tongaat shares drop after profit warning

By: Reuters 22nd February 2019 Tongaat Hulett on Friday warned of a headline earnings loss for the year to March 31, sending shares in the sugar producer down 12.3% at 1308 GMT. It reported a profit of R617-million the previous year. →

Intervention needed as chicken imports reach record high – poultry association

By: African News Agency 21st February 2019 Chicken imports reached a new record high in 2018 which placed further pressure on the local market, according to the South African Poultry Association (SAPA). An imports' report drawn up by SAPA based on official SA Revenue Service statistics showed that imports in 2018 totalled 538 434 tons, an... →

Sugar tax will shrink the industry, says South African sugar association

By: African News Agency 21st February 2019 The South African Sugar Association (SASA) said on Thursday it was disappointed by the announcement that there will be an increase in the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), commonly known as "sugar tax". During his budget speech on Thursday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said government has... →

South Africa will have to produce 50% more food by 2050 or face crisis – WWF

By: News24Wire 20th February 2019 South Africa faces an impending food security crisis if there isn't urgent action to correct unsustainable practices, says an environmental organisation. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), South Africa will have to produce 50% more food by 2050 to feed an estimated population of... →

Icasa boss sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud, money laundering

By: News24Wire 15th February 2019 Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) chairperson Rubben Mohlaloga has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud and money laundering. Mohlalonga was sentenced - alongside former acting head of the Land Bank Philemon Mohlahlane and attorney Dinga Rammy Nkwashu - on... →

Icasa chairperson Rubben Mohlaloga

Airbus launches new space-based service for precision agriculture

By: Rebecca Campbell 15th February 2019 Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus DS), one of the companies of the Europe-based aerospace group Airbus, has launched a new service to support precision agriculture around the world. Precision agriculture is an approach to managing crops using remote sensing technologies (airborne and space-borne),... →

Continental optimises tyre test with driverless test vehicle

15th February 2019 Automotive tyre manufacturing company Continental commissioned the first driverless tyre test vehicle for an assortment of road surface types at its test site in Uvalde, Texas, in the US. The aim of the endeavour was to make test results for the company’s passenger and light trucks more... →

DRIVERLESS NAVIGATION The driverless vehicle pilots the testing route with a GPS-supported satellite navigation system

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