South Africa and International News

The water situation looks better in the Boland and Cape Town but alas, that doesn’t tell the full story of the Western Cape: the Klein-Karoo has barely had rain or snow this winter and the dam levels are shocking: two important irrigation dams, the Kammanassie Dam and the Stompdrift Dam are 8% and 2% full respectively. The Poortjieskloof Dam is 0.2% full.

According to Agri Western Cape, many fruit orchards and wine vineyards in the Klein-Karoo have either already withered and died because of the drought, or have been removed to relieve pressure on extremely limited water sources.

Sugar in South Africa- 

South Africa’s corn production is expected to increase 16% in 2019-20, increasing exports to about 1 million tonnes, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The global orange market is facing a number of challenges. South African oranges, and citrus fruits in general, are troubled by problems in the ports of Durban and Port Elizabeth.

The European market is short on avocados, even more than originally expected, after South Africa and Peru’s giant crops from last year whetted an even wider appetite.