Eastern Cape Business 2018 edition

OVERVIEW
The province’s pineapple crop, grown in the same part of the Sunshine
Coast that produces chicory, is similarly largely for domestic consumption.
Approximately 80 000 tons are produced every year and
processed in East London.
One of the fastest-growing sectors in agriculture is macadamia nuts.
The ECRDA has partnered with a community to plant the popular nut
at Ncera in the Tyume Valley north of Alice.
Sheep and goats
The long-term drought which has afflicted all regions in South
Africa is having an effect on all sectors, but wool-producing sheep
farmers and mohair-producing Angora goat producers perhaps less
so, partly because they are so well adapted to dry conditions but
also because farmers can reduce their flocks.
The dorper breed (which are mainly used for meat production)
are found in the dry Karoo, while the higher-lying areas are more
conducive to the wool-producing sheep.
South Africa produces about 50 000 tons of wool annually. In 2015/16,
the value of wool sold at auctions reached R3.7-billion, of which R815-
million was generated in the Eastern Cape.
The National Woolgrowers Association (NWGA) has helped
24 000 Eastern Cape communal wool farmers get organised into 1 224
wool growers’ associations. A support programme aims to improve
the genetic stock. This is funded by the National Department of Rural
Development and Land Reform and involves communal farmers swopping
an inferior ram for a good ram. So far, 42 000 good Merino rams
have been added to the communal flocks.
The South African Mohair Growers Association is based in the heart
of Angora goat country at Jansenville while the industry association,
Mohair South Africa, has recently
built smart new headquarters in
Port Elizabeth, encompassing a
shop and conference facilities.
South Africa produces about half
of the world’s mohair.
Processing of mohair takes
place in Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth
and Berlin outside East London.
The mohair value chain includes
brokers, buyers, processors, spinners,
manufacturers and retailers.
The Stucken group controls
Mohair Spinners South Africa,
Hinterveld (a mill) and a processing
company called Gubb & Inggs
in Uitenhage.
Several agricultural companies
have mohair divisions: OVK (based
in Ladybrand) has a 34% shareholding
the Cape Mohair Wool
(CMW), a mohair brokerage; BKB
(Port Elizabeth headquarters) has
a mohair division that includes
auctions and brokering.
Other livestock
Livestock farming is the largest
agricultural subsector in South
Africa. The Eastern Cape holds
21% of the country’s cattle (about
3.2-million), 28% of its sheep (seven
million) and 46% of its goats,
making it the largest livestock
province by a large margin.
The rich natural grasslands of
the Eastern Cape have the potential
to produce high-value organic
meat, a product that is proving increasingly
popular in health-conscious
international markets. The
Eastern Cape can offer a range
that stretches from Karoo lamb
to CAB-certified free-range beef.
These niche meat products are
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