Browse Data and Analysis

The hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) sector in South Africa is gradually beginning to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but challenges remain due to frequent power outages, known as load shedding, and rampant food price inflation.

South Africa's steady growth in poultry production is expected to continue in 2024 as an increasingly vertically integrated industry capitalizes on lower feed prices driven by strong maize and soy production.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal area harvested for marketing year (MY) 2023/24 is forecast to remain the same as the previous year at 1.23 million hectares (MHA) based on good farm gate prices, governments’ input subsidies, and farmers’ debt cancellation by the Malian and Senegalese governments.

Post forecast marketing year (MY) 2022/23 (August to July) area for Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso to increase six percent to 1.41 million hectares (Mha) compared to the previous year. However, this growth will depend on the level of government support through the farm gate and input prices which have not yet been announced.

Rice production in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Mali is forecast at 8.02 million metric tons (MMT) in MY 2022/23 on average weather, improved irrigation, and enhanced stability in production areas. The 15 percent jump from MY 2021/22 follows a growing season that was plagued by poor weather, militant activity and instability in Mali, and irrigation issues and pest prevalence in Senegal.

Wheat production in Ethiopia for 2022/23 projected at a record level of 5.7 million MT while corn forecasted to 10.2 million MT. The Government of Ethiopia (GOE) has identified top priorities that can increase production and productivity of cereals through small and large-scale irrigation development, financing agricultural inputs, encouraging cluster farming, and reducing post-harvest loss.

Post forecasts Kenya’s sugar production will decrease 4 percent in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 from 690,000 metric tons (MT) to 660,000 MT due to lower sugarcane yields as high fertilizer prices trigger lower application.

Post forecasts that the South African sugar cane crop will expand by 9 percent to 18.8 million metric tons (MT) in the 2022/23 market year (MY), based on a return to normal weather conditions, an improvement in yields, and marginal increases in planted area.

Milled rice production for MY 2022/23 is projected at 1 MMT, this is unchanged from the MY 2021/22. Post projects MY 2022/23 imports at 1.25 MMT, a 3.8 percent decrease from MY 2021/22. Overall stock levels are reported to be high in order absorb any short-term supply disruptions.

On April 8, 2022, the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) passed a directive allowing franco-valuta imports of essential food commodities without foreign exchange permits.

The 2021 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world.

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.