South African agriculture
Covering 1.2-million square kilometres of land, South Africa is one-eighth the size of the United States and has seven climatic regions, from Mediterranean to subtropical to semi-desert.
This biodiversity, together with a coastline 3 000 kilometres long and served by seven commercial ports, favours the cultivation of a highly diverse range of marine and agricultural products, from deciduous, citrus and subtropical fruit to grain, wool, cut flowers, livestock and game.
Agricultural activities range from intensive crop production and mixed farming in winter rainfall and high summer rainfall areas to cattle ranching in the bushveld and sheep farming in the arid regions. Maize is most widely grown, followed by wheat, oats, sugar cane and sunflowers.
While 13% of South Africa's land can be used for crop production, only 22% of this is high-potential arable land. The most important limiting factor is water availability. Rainfall is distributed unevenly across the country, with some areas prone to drought. Almost 50% of South Africa's water is used for agriculture, with about 1.3-million hectares under irrigation.
Today, South Africa is not only self-sufficient in virtually all major agricultural products, but is also a net food exporter. Farming remains vitally important to the economy and development of the southern African region. Since 1994, the government has been working to develop small-scale farming to boost job creation.
Exports
South Africa is the world's top exporter of avocados, tangerines and ostrich products, the second-biggest exporter of grapefruit, third-biggest exporter of plums and pears, and fourth-biggest exporter of table grapes.
Farming contributes some 8% to the country's total exports. The largest export groups are wine, citrus, sugar, grapes, maize, fruit juice, wool, and deciduous fruit such as apples, pears, peaches and apricots.
Other important export products are avocados, dairy products, flowers, food preparations, hides and skins, meat, non-alcoholic beverages, pineapples, preserved fruit and nuts, sugar, and wines.
A number of high-growth niche markets are emerging, such as herbal beverages and luxury seafood.
Competitive advantages
Besides the country's biodiversity, marine resources, world-class infrastructure and competitive input costs, South Africa's agriculture and agribusiness sector are benefiting from increased market access to its key trading partners, the EU and the US, through a number of trade agreements:
African Growth and Opportunity Act - extends to South Africa and other sub-Saharan US generalised system of preference (GSP) benefits for more than 1 800 items beyond the standard GSP list of 4 600 items.
EU-SA Free Trade Agreement - commits the EU to the full liberalisation of 95% of South African imports over a 10-year transitional period from 2000.
EU-SA Wine and Spirits Agreement - improves access for South African wine and spirits to the European market, applying an annual duty-free tariff quota of 42 million litres.
South Africa's counter-seasonality to Europe, the country's primary export market for horticultural and floricultural products, is another major competitive advantage. South Africa is the closest major southern hemisphere producer of horticultural and floricultural products to Europe, and has significantly shorter shipping times than its rivals.
SouthAfrica.info reporter, incorporating material from the Department of Trade and Industry
