WANDILE SIHLOBO: Agriculture’s quarterly contraction in context
Output in a range of commodities is well above long-term levels, which speaks to the exceptional performance of the past two years
The start to SA’s 2021/2022 agricultural season has been muted in several sectoral economic indicators, but the GDP data for the second quarter of the year put the picture in perspective. Agricultural gross value added contracted 7.7% quarter on quarter (seasonally adjusted). This follows a revised contraction of 2.4% in the first quarter of 2022.
These results are unsurprising as various subsectors of agriculture face varied challenges. For example, the livestock industry, which accounts for roughly half of the sector’s gross value added, continues to suffer from foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks and rising feed costs. Moreover, some field crops’ harvests aren’t as robust as the 2020/2021 season due to heavy rains at the start of the season, although they remain well above the long-term harvest levels...
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