SA farm exports hit record even as US shipments crash

South African agricultural exports hit an annual record of $15.1 billion in 2025, even as shipments to the US slumped in the second half of the year.

Exports surged 10% from the previous year, the seventh consecutive annual rise, even as tariffs imposed on some goods saw shipments to America fall by 11% in the third quarter and 39% in the final quarter, Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said in a note.

The rest of Africa accounted for 53% of South Africa’s agricultural exports in the fourth quarter, Asia and the Middle East 17% and the European Union 16%. The Americas, including the US, represented 4% of South Africa’s shipments.

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