Farmer’s Weekly – 30 August 2019

ABOVE:

A livestock

traceabilitysystem

is neededtogain

betterinsightinto

SouthAfrica’s

informalbeefherd.

fwarchive

30 August 2019 farmer’sweekly 19

SouthAfrica’scitrusindustryis

incrucialneedofnewmarketsto

accommodatetheexpectedgrowth

incitrusproductionoverthenext

decade.Thiswasaccordingto

DrTracyDavids,managerofthe

BureauforFoodandAgricultural

Policy’s(BFAP)commoditymarkets,

whospokeattherecentreleaseof

theannualBFAPSouthAfrican

BaselinereportinSomersetWest.

Thereportprojectedgrowthof

50%fororanges,60%forlemons

andlimes,and100%forsoft

citrusoverthenextdecade.

“Lotsofproductsareentering

themarketandweneedtoensure

there’scompetitiveaccessforthese

productsinternationally,”Davids

said.Sheaddedthatif marketaccess

wasnotexpandedanddiversified,

oversupplyona crowdedmarket

couldbeharmfultothepriceof

produceinthelongrun.Sheadvised

industrymemberstolookforgrowth

opportunitiesintheFarEast.

“With25%morecartonsofcitrus

projectedtobeexportedin 2029

comparedwith2018,weneedtolook

atmarketswherethedemandis still

growing.WecangrowintheEUby

beatingourcompetitors,butthedemand

fortheproductis notincreasinga lot.”

DavidsaddedthatAfricawas

alsoa potentialareaforexportsin

thefuture,particularlyunderthe

AfricanContinentalFreeTradeArea

agreement,withtradeunderthis

agreementexpectedtocommence

in2020.Inadditiontomarket

access,SouthAfricawouldalso

havetoensureportcapacityand

operationalefficiencytohandle

futureexportvolumes,Davidssaid.

MitchellBrooke,logistics

developmentmanagerattheCitrus

Growers’AssociationofSouthern

Africa,saidonlytwosolutions

wereavailabletorectifythestatus

quoandfacilitatefuturegrowth.

“WemustexportcitrusfromMaputo

port,andtransportcontainersofcitrus

byrailfromthehinterlandtoports

forexports.Currently,therearesix

equippedreefertrainsservicingthe

citrus[industry]withmoretrainsinthe

pipeline.”Hesaidthecitrusindustry

hadsetitselfa targetoftransporting

10 000 containers by rail per season

by 2022. – Jeandré van der Walt

New markets and efficient ports vital for citrus exports

theyenterthesystem.We’llalso

needtoachievesomeproductivity

growthwithinthatcomponent

ofournationalherd,”shesaid.

Davidsrecommendedthat

a livestocktraceabilitysystem

beimplemented.Thiswould

providetheindustrywitha better

understandingofsmall-scale

producers,aswellasdisease

managementandcontrol.

Significantproductivity

gainscouldbemade through

improvedmarket access and

export-drivengrowth, she said,

addingthat:“Itsurely is an

investmentworth making.”.

However,sheemphasised that

oncethiswasachieved, a space

wouldhavetobecreated for these

producerstogain access to the

market.–Jeandrévan der Walt

Thedemandforbeefwillgrow
23%overthenextdecade,
accordingtotheBureauforFood
andAgriculturalPolicy(BFAP).
“Thismeansthatanadditional
200 000tofbeefwillneed
tobeproducedinthenext
10 years,” said Dr Tracy Davids,
manager of BFAP’s commodity
markets and foresight.
Davids delivered the 2019
edition of the BFAP South
African Baseline report on
the outlook for agricultural
production, consumption,
prices and trade in South Africa
for the period 2019 to 2028.
According to Davids, the
informal beef sector was one of
the largest unaccounted assets in
South African agriculture, and
held great scope for inclusive
growth for smaller producers if
its potential could be unlocked.
However, for this to happen,
improved livestock estimates,
which included smaller
producers, were needed.
“We need traceability so that
we know how many products
they are marketing, where these
products are marketed, and where

Informal beef herd is ‘SA’s largest uncounted agri asset’