Agriculture sector optimism moves to highest level since late 2014
CONFIDENCE in the recession-struck agricultural sector has jumped to its highest level in eight quarters, suggesting an expansion in South African agribusiness activity, an index showed on Monday.The Agbiz/IDC confidence index recovered 13 points to 60 in the third quarter of this year, after remaining below 50 index points for five consecutive quarters, according to Agbiz.This is the highest reading since the third quarter of 2014. The agricultural sector has been in decline for six consecutive quarters.Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz head of agribusiness research said: "This suggests that agribusinesses are holding an optimistic view regarding business conditions in the country."Optimism among survey respondents also ran high over employment in the sector and on this score the index improved nine points from the previous quarter to 63. This was partly linked to the approaching production season and the chances that activity may increase, leading to seasonal job opportunities.The confidence...
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