"Agricultural exports grew by 10 percent between 2008 and 2010, with total agricultural exports amounting to US6.8 billion (about R52bn)," the SA Institute of Race Relations said. During the same period, agricultural imports increased by just less than a percentage to US5.2bn (about R39bn).
The analysis was based on information supplied by the foreign agricultural service in the United States' agriculture department. The Netherlands was South Africa's largest agricultural export destination, accounting for a little over 10 percent or US700 million (about R5.3bn) in 2010. Agricultural exports accounted for five percent of South Africa's total exports in 2010, while agricultural imports accounted for two percent, the research revealed.
"Recent data indicates that demand for South African agricultural products is not only holding steady, but is in fact growing," researcher Jonathan Snyman told Moneyweb. Between 2008 and 2010, the demand for South African agricultural exports grew in Asia and Africa, while the proportion of such exports going to European countries declined. "Food security is an especially precarious state of affairs in sub-Sahara Africa, so it is a positive development that South African has maintained its status as a net agricultural exporter," Snyman said.
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