South Africa’s Agribusiness Confidence Index climbed eight points to 53 in Q3, moving above the neutral 50 mark and signaling improved business sentiment after Q2.
Ample horticulture and field-crop harvests and stronger trade drove the gain: the export-volumes subindex rose 21 points to 58, while first-half agricultural exports reached $7.8 billion, up 11% from a year earlier.
Investment and market-share sentiment also strengthened, with capital investment up 29 points to 63 and market share up six points to 67, though turnover held at 67 and net operating income stayed at 50.
Risks still cloud the outlook: the agricultural-conditions subindex fell 25 points to 36 on expected El Niño drought, employment dropped 10 points to 46, and firms flagged higher input costs, animal disease, port inefficiencies and slow export-market access.