AGRICULTURE NEWS - Statistics South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) data for the second quarter of the year showed a growth of 3,1%, driven by mining, finance, trade and government services.
According to the report that was released on Tuesday, this was a sharp increase compared to the decline of 3,2% in the first quarter, which was the sharpest quarterly drop seen in South Africa in a decade.
However, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector as well as the construction industry decreased 4,2% and 1,6% respectively, each contributed -0,1 of a percentage point to GDP growth.
Dawie Maree, head of information and marketing for agriculture at FNB said the decline of 4,2% was surprising, but the fundamental principles made sense.
“The majority of summer crops are still [being harvested] due to the late harvest and also a smaller [crop].”
Read the full article here on the Caxton publication, Farmer's Weekly
