The South African farming sector had a broadly positive start to 2026, despite the challenges posed by foot-and-mouth disease in cattle, African swine fever in the pig industry and floods in the northeastern regions. Still, higher economic activity across field crops and horticulture sufficiently supported growth in the sector.
Stats SA figures released on June 9 show that agricultural gross value added expanded by 3.9% quarter on quarter (seasonally adjusted) in the first quarter of 2026, from 0.4% in the last quarter of 2025. These robust growth figures also align with strong trade figures for Q1. Agricultural exports totalled $3.7bn in Q1, up 11% from the same period a year ago, according to data from Trade Map. Better exports were a function of both higher export volumes across various products and higher commodity prices.
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