Robust SA agricultural exports to US in second quarter of 2025
I was pleasantly surprised to see that agricultural exports to the US were quite strong in the second quarter of 2025 exports data for South Africa.
But we must not be complacent in our discussions with the US and start to believe the risk for the year has been averted. The goal of ensuring better access to the US market remains critical, especially for agriculture (and the vehicle industry).
The data shows that South Africa's agricultural exports to the US in the second quarter of 2025 amounted to $161 million, up 26% from the same period in 2024. This is not a matter of base effects, but a better performance.
And remember, this comes after another exciting quarter at the start of the year, when South Africa's agricultural exports to the US in the first quarter of 2025 were at $118 million, up 19% year-on-year.
In the second quarter, the impressive jump in agricultural exports to the US could be because some exporters pushed large volumes to take advantage of the 90-day pause of Donald Trump's 'liberation tariffs'.
But another factor that partly explains this improvement so far this year is that South Africa generally has an ample fruit harvest and a decent wine harvest of excellent quality.
The products that continue to dominate South Africa's agricultural exports to the US are citrus, fruit juices, wine, nuts, apricots, apples, pears and grapes.
We were also lucky this year because the ports have been operating quite efficiently, enabling the exporters to take advantage of the tariff pause window.
The $161 million of South Africa's agricultural exports to the US account for 4% of the overall agricultural exports to the world market, which was at $3.71 billion (up 10% year-on-year).
The strong exports to the US also continue to illustrate the importance of that market to the various industries of South Africa's agriculture. Therefore, securing better tariff levels will be beneficial to the likes of citrus, nuts, ostrich products, table grapes and wine industries, among others.
Beyond the US agricultural trade matters, we must focus on export diversification, and the starting point must be lower tariffs and simplified phytosanitary regulations in the Brics countries, specifically China, India, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
We generally need greater access to the Middle East and Asian markets. As all the export expansion efforts continue, the one aspect that we should not neglect is maintaining warm relations with the existing export markets in the European Union, broader Africa, the Middle-East, Asia and the Americas.
South Africa's agricultural sector is export-oriented, and securing better access to various export markets, while ensuring the maintenance of the existing markets, should remain top of mind for the policy makers and the industry stakeholders. When we think of the medium to long-term growth of South Africa's agricultural sector, we typically flag the possibilities of expansion, area planting and livestock farming, among other activities. Any success in such expansion will require an export focus, as the domestic market lacks sufficient capacity to absorb our products at a profitable level for farmers.
So far, what remains uplifting, at least for now, is that the agricultural exports to the US market remain robust. The coming quarters' performance will depend on whether South Africa achieves better security and tariff levels than the current 30%, which is far above our competitors, such as Chile and Peru.
Wandile Sihlobo is the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz).
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