A South African dragon fruit venture that is introducing new varieties into the country is rapidly building momentum and excitement.

The domestic maize market experienced large price movements this week, the domestic wheat, wool and cotton markets experienced positive price movements, while soya bean prices are expected to spike in June.

It was expected that prices would increase for month end, this proved true for tomatoes (6.3% price increase w/w), onions (0.9% increase
w/w) and cabbage (1.5% increase w/w) whilst w/w price declines were experienced by potatoes (3.2%) and carrots (3.3%).

The local maize, soya bean, winter cereals, sunflower seed prices increased last week. The local peanut production for the season does not look good as the plantings could not take place optimally.

When the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its preliminary estimates for the 2019/20 global grains and oilseeds production, the sentiment in the agricultural market was that there will be large food supplies.

The start of the stone fruit season is around the corner in the Mediterranean. Spain continues to increase its stone fruit volumes and thus dominates the market in Europe. A good harvest is also expected in Greece, with rising export volumes to Europe and the Middle East.