South Africa - International Franchise Association

The U.S. Commercial Service, Johannesburg, South Africa can be contacted via email:
Denvor.Julies@mail.doc.gov; Phone: +27 (0)11 290 3241; Fax: +27 (0)11 884 0538 or
visit our website: http://export.gov/southafrica/index.asp
Agricultural Sectors Return to top
Grains
Vegetable oils
Oilseed meals
Alcoholic Beverages
Poultry
South Africa has a market-oriented agricultural economy that is highly diversified and
includes the production of all the major grains (except rice), oilseeds, deciduous and
subtropical fruits, sugar, citrus, wine and most vegetables. Livestock production includes
cattle, dairy, pigs, sheep, and a well developed broiler and egg industry. Value-added
activities in the sector include the slaughtering, processing and preserving of meat;
processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables; dairy products; grain mill products;
crushing of oilseeds; prepared animal feeds; and sugar refining, cocoa, chocolate, and
sugar confectionery amongst other food products.
The agricultural sector currently contributes around 8% to South Africa’s total export
earnings. South African produce, mostly harvested during the Northern Hemisphere
winter, has achieved remarkable success on foreign markets and is well-known for its
uncompromising quality. Citrus and deciduous fruit, highly in demand in foreign
countries, accounts for the largest volume of exports. South Africa also exports wine,
corn, mohair, groundnuts, karakul pelts, sugar, and wool, to name just a few.
The value of South Africa’s agricultural and food product imports in FY2011 reached
almost $6 billion. The major products imported were wheat ($556 million), rice ($429
million), palm oil ($415 million), soybean meal ($375 million) and soybean oil ($314
million).
In FY2011, the United States exported $402 million of agricultural, fish and forestry
products to South Africa, up 46 percent from the previous year. Wheat is the most
important export product from the United States, but a five-year trend shows that exports
of consumer-oriented products to South Africa by the United States are growing steadily
and have almost doubled. The increase is attributable to other categories, like snack
foods, tree nuts, dairy products, poultry meat, processed fruit and vegetables, fresh
vegetables, and “other” consumer-oriented products, which reached record levels in
2011. Within this sub-category, “other food preparations” have shown consistent and
substantial increases, including sauces and condiments.
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Pretoria prepares more than thirty reports
each year on the agricultural situation by commodity sector in South Africa. Some
reports highlight opportunities for U.S. farm exports. For other sector reports, and U.S.
exporters of agricultural products, please start with the Exporter Guide for South Africa
at http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Lists/Advanced%20Search/AllItems.aspx
If you are an exporter of U.S. agricultural products, please feel free to contact the
Foreign Agricultural Service in Pretoria for further information at the following address: