Confidence in agriculture takes a knock, despite good rainfall in parts of SA
Unfavourable weather conditions in the Western Cape coupled with relatively lower global demand for maize exports were the key drivers of the decline in confidence in the agricultural sector, according to the agriculture business chamber (Agbiz).The latest Agbiz/Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) agribusiness confidence index dipped by another two index points in the third quarter to 54 points. (A reading above 50 indicates expansion.) This came as drought conditions continued to grip the Western Cape, a key agricultural economy."Although there are a number of factors driving sentiment of the other sub-indices, the unfavourable weather conditions in the Western Cape province and relatively lower global demand for maize exports were the key drivers of the decline in sentiment in the third quarter of this year," said Wandile Sihlobo, the head of economic and agribusiness research at Agbiz.After good summer rainfall in other parts of SA in 2017 led to record maize and soybean har...
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