AGRICULTURAL NEWS - This was according to the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI) that reflects the perceptions of at least 20 agribusiness decision-makers in the country on 10 sub-indices.
Head of agribusiness research at Agbiz, Wandile Sihlobo, said that the Q3 results showed that there had been a drop of two index points to 54 following the one index point drop in the Q2 results.
An overall ACI reading of above 50 indicated expansion in SA agribusiness activity. The last time this reading was 50 or below was in the Q2 of 2016.
“Among the 10 sub-indices making up the [ACI], the quarterly decline [for Q3 2017] was broad-based, with the exception of turnover and capital investment.
"Although there are a number of factors driving sentiment of the other sub-indices, the unfavourable weather conditions in the Western Cape and relatively lower global demand for maize exports were the key drivers of the decline in sentiment in the third quarter of this year,” said Sihlobo.
