How is South Africa (SA) affected by the crisis in the Ukraine?

Vunani Securities compiled a report looking at South African Revenue Service (SARS) data. The following are points taken from there.

• Wheat is the first and obvious area of concern. Last year, 46.3% of SA's wheat came from the Ukraine and Russia. Sourcing more expensive wheat elsewhere will cause higher food prices. Rising food prices is one the chief drivers of inflation in this country.
• About 11% of SA's total fertiliser imports come from Russia, along with some 10% of its imports of copper wire and 7.4% of its cigars and cigarettes.
• Russia imports tanned/dressed fur skins and artificial fur products, jams, fruit jellies and marmalade from SA. Manganese ore, wine and citrus fruit are other major exports to both Russia and Ukraine.

Source: Business Day

EU trade barriers

The Bi-weekly Update - Agriculture and Bi-weekly update - fisheries are published by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). The most recent, announced that the European Commission (EC) had published its ‘Trade and investment barriers report 2014’, which looks at the key barriers faced in trade and investment relations with “the EU’s strategic partners, i.e. China, India, Japan, Mercosur, Russia and the United States”.

Readers in South Africa will notice their BRICS partners here: Brazil (part of Mercosur), Russia, India and China. Where is South Africa? Where is Africa, for that matter?

The continent is covered in the report under the EU Market Access Strategy. Find the editorial comment about this in the CTA article 'EC trade barriers report provides insights into agro-food sector priorities in future trade relations' which can be accessed here.

The story of your life in 18 minutes

How would you tell the story of your life in 18 minutes? Think about it for a moment. The spotlight is shining on you and an audience of several hundred are watching. Where would you begin?

Imagine telling the story of the world in 18 minutes. It's what David Christian does. It is "Big history" i.e. it takes in what existed before the so-called big-bang ... right up to the present day.

Talk of editing! To compress all the achievements and happenings of what we know (and don't know) into 18 minutes is a major achievement. Two developments that he touches on, especially, are food for thought:

• The emergence of farming, which changed everything! As we have noted before, agriculture releases everyone else to get on with other matters because a small minority of people (the farmers) are there to ensure that there is food for everyone.
• The transference of knowledge means that what we learn does not die with us, and our offspring can pick up from where we left off and take our achievements to new heights (and new lows, some would say, but that is a subject for another evening!)

Find and enjoy the talk here.

Key agri opportunities in South Africa

Earlier this week, the Department of Trade and Industry minister, Dr Davies, introduced the Industrial Policy Action Plans (IPAPs) for the next two years. These are areas within the economy which hold greater promise to earn foreign exchange and grow jobs, and which therefore enjoy government incentives and support.

Key opportunities of interest to this website are listed here, and linked to the relevant chapter in The Agri Handbook:

• Fruit juices, indigenous teas (Red bush/rooibos and Honeybush), fruits and wine
• Fruit and vegetable canning
• Cassava (to increase production so as to replace imports)
• Biofuels
• Small-scale milling
• Broilers (chicken meat)
• The intervention in the food-processing sector is a skills programme
• Aquaculture
• Forestry (sawmilling, furniture manufacturing)

Although not agricultural of nature, of interest is the focus on renewable energy. Between 2011 and 2013 more than R100 Billion was committed towards developing renewable energy projects in this country. This is mainly solar and wind energy.

The oil & gas sector is also looked at (including shale gas).

Nigeria is now the biggest economy in Africa

Nigeria has ascended to being the largest economy in Africa. This follows the rebasing of its gross domestic product (GDP) to $509.9-billion. South Africa’s nominal GDP stood at around $322-billion.

We chuckled at South Africa's Trade and Industry (DTI) minister who welcomed Nigeria's new position, saying that "this is not the Absa Currie Cup" (our domestic rugby football competition). Dr Davies was introducing the new Industrial Policy Action Plans (IPAPs), areas of the economy identified as holding growth potential and which will enjoy greater government support. This will be dealt with in a subsequent blog.

Nigeria has a population more than three times the size of South Africa. Read about the Nigerian economy on the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission website.

Rain can spoil your weekend ...

... or rain can save your life / depending on who you are / and what your thirst is like (Mark Heard)

We have written several articles on water, crucial to life on earth. Indeed, in The Agri Handbook, the general Water chapter is found under the National Issues section, highlighting its role in our day-to-day existence.

As with all things in our dual reality, the resource which sustains life can also, in unfortunate circumstances, do the opposite.

We were approached to help publicise the work of a charity that saves lives on the country's waters. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is run by 940 highly skilled, unpaid volunteers who are on standby day and night throughout the year.

In the latest fund raising event in support of their work, you, the visitor, have the opportunity to win two Mitsubishi vehicles, a cash prize of R250,000 (around US$25,000), or a trip for two on the Queen Mary 2. Find more information here and the June entry form here.