South African Business 2019 edition

OVERVIEW
Agriculture
Increasing agri-processing volumes is a national priority.
South Africa produces a wide variety of crops in every category
but in recent times there has been a rapid expansion in the
production of nuts. Macadamia nuts is one of the fastestgrowing
sectors in South Africa. Most nuts are exported,
and the global market is expanding: nearly 2 000ha are added to
the land under macadamias every year. Mpumalanga and Limpopo
provinces are big nut-growing provinces. Another sector enjoying a
boom (mainly because of Chinese demand) is avocadoes, with almost
1 000ha per year of new land being planted.
Peanuts are farmed in the Northern Cape, North West and Free
State with the Vaal River having the highest concentration of growers.
Some analysts believe that the Northern Cape could become a global
centre for pecan nut production. Production of pecan nuts grew from
5 000 tons in 2010 to 10 500 tons in 2015.
The Northern Cape is home to the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme, one
of the biggest systems of its kind in the world. Spread over more than
30 000ha, it has transformed a semi-desert zone into a productive area
that sustains cotton, wheat, maize, lucerne, citrus, peanuts, fruit, grapes,
olives and pecan nuts. Consulting firm Aurecon has done a feasibility
study and a business plan for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the
irrigation scheme.
A priority for South African agriculture is to increase the number of
agri-processing businesses which in turn will mean that agricultural
SECTOR INSIGHT
The Mpumalanga International
Fresh Produce Market will
boost farming in the region.
production will have to increase.
More than 50% of agricultural export
is currently made up of processed
agricultural products.
The most recent version of
the South African government’s
Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP)
flags agri-processing as a key sector
for value addition and job creation.
According to McKinsey, South
Africa’s agri-processing industry
contributed R78-billion in 2014 to
South Africa’s GDP and employed
362 000 people.
In anticipation of increased
volumes, and to assist small-scale
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