BUREAU FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH
WANDILE SIHLOBO: Agriculture confidence keeps sprouting
Earlier this week, South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago remarked that the country’s current fundamental economic problem is weak confidence. The Bureau for Economic Research’s Business Confidence index plunged to 29 index points in the second quarter of 2017 — the lowest level since the 2009 recession — and political uncertainty leads to weak business activity. But some sectors of the economy continue to provide green shoots. The recent Agbiz-Industrial Development Corporation Agribusiness Confidence index results for the second quarter of 2017 underlined agriculture’s reputation as a countercyclical sector. The index declined marginally to 56 points, indicating that the agribusiness sector remains in expansionary territory. This is the fourth consecutive expansionary reading, showing continued stabilisation following the 2015-16 drought damage. Among other things, the index projects how agricultural GDP could perform in the succeeding quarters. Broadly, the index co...
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