Agri sector expected to emerge unscathed from Omicron

Despite heightened uncertainty worldwide in the wake of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529), the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) said this week that it did not foresee the new variant causing major changes in regulations and trading activity for much of the agricultural sector.

The chamber’s chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo said agriculture had largely been classified as an essential industry and remained operational since the onset of the pandemic.

‘We will, nonetheless, monitor the potential impact of the travel bans and the general surge of infections on the global supply chains.

‘This is an important area for SA’s export-orientated agricultural sector,’ Sihlobo said.

He added, despite these global factors and the ongoing pandemic-related uncertainty, SA’s agricultural sector had started the 2021/22 production season positively.

The country was in a full La Niña swing, which was evident from the frequent higher rainfall since the beginning of October.

Consequently, soil moisture had improved considerably across the country.

Farmers started planting in October in the eastern regions of SA, and progress had been good thus far, he said.