Browse Data and Analysis

This report highlights the food processing industry, its drivers, key players, and market landscape in the Caribbean Basin. The region relies heavily on imports, and the United States is the largest supplier of food ingredients.

South Africa’s dairy industry is likely to grow in the future due to improving economic factors, despite suffering from many weather and disease related challenges in the past five years. This growth may provide opportunities for dairy genetics exporters.

Wine grape production in 2025 is forecast to improve by five percent on favorable winter conditions, which will translate into a slight increase in wine production.

The five biggest corporations, Shoprite Holdings Ltd., Pick n Pay Retailers Pty Ltd., Spar Group Ltd., Walmart-owned Massmart, and Woolworths Holdings Ltd., account for a substantial portion of the retail food market in South Africa. When combined, they make up over 60% of all retail food sales.

The South African retail food market is highly concentrated among the five largest companies, including Shoprite Holdings Ltd, Pick n Pay Retailers Pty Ltd, Spar Group Ltd, Massmart (Walmart-owned), and Woolworths Holdings Ltd.

This report provides more information on the South African food processing sector, including strategies for U.S. exporters interested in entering the market.

The South African retail food sector is well-developed and continues to expand into other African countries. In 2021, South African retail food sales totaled $40 billion, a 0.2 percent increase from 2020 as the South African economy began to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Africa is a middle-income emerging market with a well-developed agribusiness sector that plays a significant role in job creation and economic growth. Although largely self-sufficient in agricultural production, South Africa offers some opportunities for U.S. exports, especially in the food ingredients sector.

South African retail food sales totaled US$ 39.8billion in 2020, a 6 percent decrease from 2019 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caribbean imports of consumer-oriented products shrunk from $2.3 billion in 2019 to $2.1 billion in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet Caribbean retail grocery sales grew by an estimated 6 percent during the same period.

There are no known plantations for sugar maple trees and maple syrup production in South Africa. While the market is relatively small compared to the United States, it may present niche prospects for U.S. maple exports.

South Africa’s well-developed food processing sector has been under pressure since the March 2020 national lockdown due to COVID-19, which imposed many restrictions on the food industry.