Times Of Swaziland: ANIMAL FEED IMPORTS RISE 82%

ANIMAL FEED IMPORTS RISE 82%
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BY ASHMOND NZIMA on 13/07/2021 08:11:00


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).