Agriculture shines

SA’s agricultural sector was the only shining light in the second quarter of this year.

The sector’s gross value-added expanded by 15.1% q/q on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis following an expansion of 27.8% q/q in the first quarter.

This is, in part, because most of the sector was classified as essential and didn’t close during the lockdown.

Most importantly, it is due to the fact that this is a recovery year in agricultural output across all subsectors (field crops, horticulture, livestock) following long periods of drought, and a surge in exports (supported by the weak exchange rate).

These were also the key drivers of the expansion in the first quarter of the year. – Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist, Agbiz