It sometimes feels like there is little more to discuss regarding South Africa’s consumer food price inflation.

It sometimes feels like there is little more to discuss regarding South Africa's consumer food price inflation.

The South African agricultural sector has had a good start to 2021, with favourable rainfall supporting crop yields and grazing veld for the livestock industry. This is a second consecutive season of strong performance for the sector after 2020 also saw bumper harvests on various crops and subsequently the second-largest export earnings on record of US$10,2 billion.

Maize was South Africa’s fifth largest exported agricultural product in value terms in 2020.

On Wednesday morning, Statistics South Africa reported much higher figures for consumer food price inflation than some had expected. In April 2021, the country’s consumer food prices were at 6,7% year-on-year, the highest level since July 2017.

The Ad Hoc Committee (the committee) responsible for drawing up a land expropriation-without-compensation (EWC) constitutional amendment bill (the bill) was supposed to meet last Friday to debate the wording of the bill on a clause-by-clause basis.