South African Business 2016 edition

OVERVIEW About 45% of

OVERVIEW About 45% of production is exported. Most of South Africa’s citrus and subtropical fruit comes from the eastern part of Limpopo. Some of the world’s biggest farming enterprises operate in Limpopo Province. Westfalia, part of the Hans Merensky Group, is an avocado grower of note while ZZ2 is a huge fresh tomato enterprise. Halls has an international reputation for avocados and litchis. Companies such as Capespan and DoleSA move huge quantities of fruit around the world. South African fruit producers have initiated an ethical trading programme called the Sustainability Initiative of South Africa (Siza). Fruit South Africa has set up the system to replace several other standards and audits that were previously used (Farmer’s Weekly). Other crops Annual sugar-production volumes are on the upsurge again, after several years of decline because of drought and rising costs. The Free State Province supplies significant proportions of the nation’s sorghum, sunflower, potatoes, groundnuts, dry beans, and almost all of its cherries. Barley and canola are produced in the Western Cape. Most of South Africa’s tobacco crop is produced on the Highveld, with about a quarter coming from Mpumalanga. British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) has about 86% of the legal domestic cigarette market. Macadamia and pecan nuts are cultivated in the northeastern regions and are proving a popular export commodity. Products distinctive to South Africa, such as rooibos tea (Western Cape) and marula berries (Limpopo) hold great potential to capture niche markets internationally. Wine Export volumes have been steadily rising for South African wines. There are about 3 500 wine producers in South Africa, with the large majority located in the Western Cape. There are 54 producer cellars. The industry is located for the most part in the Western Cape but Orange River Cellars in the Northern Cape is growing production volumes. Europe remains the main export market but India and the Far East are growing in importance as destinations. South Africa’s new membership of the BRICS group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), will open doors to new markets for wine-makers. The Distell group produces about a third of the country’s natural and sparkling wine, and is ranked 12th in the world in global wine volumes sold. Livestock Livestock farming is the largest agricultural subsector in South Africa. The Eastern Cape is the largest livestock province. South Africa has a beef-herd of 14-million. Clover, Africa’s largest milk processor, has a turnover of R6-billion and a staff of more than 6 500. The Eastern Cape provides approximately a quarter of South Africa’s milk. Parmalat has two plants in Port Elizabeth. There are 6.4-million goats in South Africa. The Kalahari Kid Corporation (KKC) intends to raise the standard of goat meat and expand the export market. SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2016 70

OVERVIEW South Africa produces about 55% of the world’s mohair, the high-quality speciality fibre taken from Angora goats. Almost all mohair farming is done in the Eastern Cape. About half the national herd of 24.5-million sheep are merinos and the Eastern Cape has the highest number of sheep. Upington in the Northern Cape is the main centre for karakul sheep farming. South Africa produces about 15-million tons of wool annually, with a quarter of that production emanating from the Eastern Cape. The Free State, Western Cape and Northern Cape are the other major producers. Forestry and paper The forest-product export sector in South Africa is made up of paper (45.2%), solid wood (23.3%) and pulp (28.9%). Imports, weighted towards paper products, cost the country R9.8-billion annually, clearly indicating scope for increased domestic production. The sector employs approximately 462 000 people with some two million dependents. Mpumalanga has South Africa’s biggest sawmill and its largest panel and board plant, together with the biggest integrated pulp and paper mill in Africa. There are sophisticated plants at several locations around the country: the country’s largest hardboard plant is at Estcourt. 71 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2016