Star 2025-08-11

A new study conducted by researchers at Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa and Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic, has indicated a concerning decline in South Africa’s agri-food trade with the European Union (EU). The decline is attributed largely to increasing trade barriers and ongoing disputes that are reshaping the trade landscape. Published in the journal Agrekon, the study provides a thorough analysis of how the EU’s agri-food import practices are deteriorating the competitiveness of South Africa’s agricultural sector. The researchers categorised agri-food products into four distinct groups: bulk commodities, processed intermediate goods, horticultural products, and consumer-ready goods. Among these, citrus, grapes, wine, apples and pears, and avocados emerge as the top five agri-food exports to the EU. The findings highlight a striking trend, with nearly half of total…

South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) Governor Lesetja Kganyago has warned that preliminary assessments suggested that South Africa's growth was being modestly affected by the United States' tariffs and other external economic factors. Kganyago on Friday said that despite the US being a significant trading partner, it was Europe, China, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that still held the most weight in South Africa's export dynamics. "In South Africa, our preliminary assessment is that tariffs and the other uncertainties in the global economy are causing modest damage to growth while leaving inflation broadly unchanged," Kganyago said. "Our exports to the US mostly consist of commodities − some of which are exempted− and manufactured products such as cars. Some parts of the agricultural sector are exposed, but total agricultural exports…

Koeberg Alert Alliance files appeals against authorisation, demands reassessment Environmentalists and civil society advocates are gearing up for a critical meeting to address the government's contentious decision to uphold Eskom's 2017 Environmental Authorisation for a new 4 000MW nuclear power station in Duynefontein. The decision has sparked intense criticism, particularly due to reliance on outdated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies, which raised alarms about the risks posed by high seismic activity and dense human populations in the area. The green light for the nuclear project comes after environmentalists, led by groups such as the Koeberg Alert Alliance (KAA), filed appeals against the initial authorisation, arguing that recent developments since 2007 necessitate a reassessment. However, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, on Friday upheld the decision granting…

The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, has announced the launch of phase two of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS), a provess that boosts tourism from India and China to South Africa. This adds another 45 vetted and approved tour operators to the existing 65 operators that have participated in the programme since its launch in February 2025. TTOS was conceptualised by Schreiber to address the long-standing challenge faced by tour operators in bringing large tour groups from the burgeoningsource markets of India and China to South Africa. It replaced manual, inefficient and paper-based processes that required prospective tourists to travel long distances justto apply for a visa, which then often took weeks to process and required a return trip for collection, with a new online system whereby…

Few moments in South Africa’s democratic history have so starkly reflected the widening gap between policy intention and institutional delivery. The announcement of a National Dialogue comes at a time when social trust is fraying, growth has stalled, and many South Africans feel locked out of their country’s economic future. With unemployment at 32.9%, public debt at 74% of GDP, and GDP growth projected at just 1.1% for 2025, the dialogue presents both a symbolic threshold and a substantive opportunity. Whether it signals a willingness to confront structural failure or merely gestures at inclusion without consequence remains to be seen. But what is clear is that the path forward cannot be paved with rhetoric alone. Simultaneously, South Africa’s evolving relationship with BRICS, following the bloc’s 2024 expansion to include Egypt,…

South Africa's manufacturing landscape revealed a modest improvement in production capacity utilisation for large enterprises, as new data from Stats SA indicates an increase to 77.7% in May 2025 from 77.6% in May 2024. Economists are interpreting this 0.1 percentage point rise as a positive indication of resilience within the sector. According to Stats SA, six out of the ten major manufacturing divisions recorded increases in production capacity utilisation compared with the same month last year. Notably, the glass and non-metallic mineral products sector led the way with a significant rise of 2.5 percentage points, followed by textiles, clothing, leather, and footwear which saw an improvement of 1.8 percentage points. Three divisions notably surpassed the critical threshold of 80% capacity utilisation in May 2025. The food and beverages sector topped…