ANIMAL FEED IMPORTS RISE 82%

MBABANE – While South Africa is reporting a rapid rise in costs of animal feed, Eswatini is importing these commodities in large quantities.

Animal feed import quantities for 2019/20 were recorded at 6 239 metric tonnes. This is a significant jump from the 3 423 metric tonnes for 2018/19. This translates to 82 per cent increase on the volumes of imported animal feed. The value of animal feed imported in the review period was E76 million in 2019/20. The figures were at E17 million in 2018/19. This is reflected in the National Agricultural Marketing Board annual report covering the period ending March 31 last year. The latter is a government of Eswatini business enterprise under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Imports

The notable increase in imports was also recorded with regard to yellow maize. The latter is a major component in the production of animal feed. A total of 91 564 metric tonnes of yellow maize was imported in 2019/20 compared to 80 507 in the previous financial year. In monetary terms, yellow maize imports were at E217 million in the year under review and E178 million the previous year, translating to a 22 per cent increase. Early this year, a warning had been issued to South African farmers to brace themselves for an increase in feed prices. Feedlot owners usually feel the pinch and this may lead to increased red meat prices. Meanwhile, scheduled agricultural products imported in the year under review, according to the NAMBoard report, were 368 196 metric tonnes valued at E1. 6 billion. These figures translate to a percentage increase of 53 per cent in quantities and 46 per cent  in the value of imports when compared to 2018/19.

Distributors

The import of fruits and vegetables is mostly dominated by small-scale traders and large retail shops including green grocers and distributors. Compared to the other categories of scheduled products, this category is second most imported after the grains and grain products (maize and wheat). For the year under review, total import quantities for fruits was 85 202 metric tonnes and 42 543 metric tonnes for vegetables.  In value terms the total was E261 million for fruits and E234 million for vegetables. The most imported vegetables include potatoes, beans, onion, carrot, beetroot and tomatoes, among others. When it comes to purchases from local farmers, a combined 1 844 metric tonnes of fruits and vegetables amounting to E9.4 million was procured from farmers in 2019/2020. This represents a 0.5 per cent decline when compared to E9.5 million worth of produce bought from farmers in 2018/19. Farmers were well cushioned against the effects of negative price movements in the market, as they were paid more per tonne of produce compared to the previous year. The most purchased commodities were tomatoes (E1.5 million/260 metric tonnes); banana (E1 million/335 metric tons); butternut (E1 million/325 metric tons); beetroot (E1 million/249 metric tonnes); and cabbage (E1 million/ 203 metric tonnes). The value of baby vegetables that were purchased from farmers was E1 million (109 metric tonnes).

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