
<p>PARIS, June 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Food imports costs across the world are expected to surge to record levels this year, piling pressure on many of the poorest countries whose economies have already been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. Food Agency said on Thursday.</p>



<p>These high costs may persist for a sustained period as nearly all agricultural commodities have become more expensive, while a rally in energy markets could raise farmers&#8217; production costs, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.</p>



<p>&#8220;The problem is not the world facing higher prices,&#8221; Josef Schmidhuber, deputy director of the FAO&#8217;s trade and markets division, told Reuters.</p>



<p>&#8220;The issue is vulnerable countries.&#8221;</p>



<p>The world&#8217;s food import bill, including shipping costs, is projected to reach $1.715 trillion this year, up 12% from $1.530 trillion in 2020, the FAO said in its twice-yearly Food Outlook report on Thursday.</p>



<p>While growth in agricultural trade during the pandemic has shown the resilience of international markets, price rises since late 2020 are raising risks for some import-dependent states, it added.</p>



<p>Nations classed as Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries by the FAO are forecast to see food import costs jump 20% this year, with tourism-reliant economies in a particularly precarious position, the agency said.</p>



<p>International aid organisations have already warned of rising numbers of malnourished people in the world as the pandemic has compounded food insecurity linked to conflict and poverty in states like Yemen and Nigeria.</p>



<p>The FAO&#8217;s monthly food price index hit a 10-year high in May, reflecting sharp rises for cereals, vegetable oils and sugar.</p>



<p>A separate index of food import costs, including freight costs that have also soared, reached a record in March this year, surpassing levels seen during previous food price spikes in 2006-2008 and 2010-2012, the FAO said.</p>



<p>Inflationary pressures have led countries like Argentina and Russia to impose export curbs.</p>



<p>CHINESE MAIZE TRADE</p>



<p>The FAO does not issue forecasts for its price index, but its import cost projection for 2021 assumed prices would stay high, Schmidhuber said.</p>



<p>&#8220;Eventually agriculture will come back to a normal situation but it will take some time,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>A strong volume increase for staple food imports last year had already driven up global import costs by 3%, to a record high.</p>



<p>Exceptions were beverages and fish products, which are more sensitive to economic conditions and were hit by supply-chain difficulties, the FAO said.</p>



<p>China&#8217;s imports have been a driver of agricultural demand and prices in the past year, partly reflecting Beijing&#8217;s efforts to rebuild its pig industry after a disease outbreak.</p>



<p>Chinese maize (corn) imports in the upcoming 2021/22 season are set to rise to 24 million tonnes, the FAO forecast. This would mean China, expected to quadruple its maize imports to 22 million tonnes in 2020/21, would remain the world&#8217;s top importer of the cereal.</p>



<p>A recovery in Chinese pork output is expected to reduce global trade, offsetting growth in beef and poultry flows to leave overall meat trade stable this year, the FAO added.</p>



<p>(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Alexander Smith and Pravin Char)</p>


Healthy groceries

Surging food import costs threaten world’s poorest, FAO warns


<p>JOHANNESBURG, June 10 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa will exempt power generation projects of up to 100 megawatts from licensing requirements, increasing the threshold 10-fold as it looks to urgently stabilise a national grid hard hit by power cuts, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.</p>



<p>Ramaphosa made the announcement amid the latest round of rolling blackouts by power utility Eskom, which has struggled to provide consistent supply to Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy.</p>



<p>&#8220;This reform is expected to unlock significant investment in new generation capacity in the short and medium term, enabling companies to build their own generation facilities to supply their energy needs,&#8221; he said in a televised briefing.</p>



<p>Ramaphosa has said previously that the move could potentially unlock 5,000 MW of extra capacity as part of reforms aimed at ending the country&#8217;s power crisis.</p>



<p>Although the projects will be exempt from the licensing requirements of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), they will still need to obtain a grid connection permit, he said on Thursday.</p>



<p>Mining companies have argued red tape has prevented them from generating their own power for years and have lobbied the government for rule changes.</p>



<p>&#8220;Our initial estimates are that this development could lead to additional short- and medium-term investment by the industry solely in embedded generation projects of around 27 billion rand ($2 billion),&#8221; industry body, the Minerals Council said.</p>



<p>Miner Gold Fields in February won approval for a 40 MW solar plant, four years after it first submitted a licence application, as energy intensive industries look to scale back their reliance on Eskom.</p>



<p>Ramaphosa said the changes will increase the available supply of energy to Eskom, allowing it to proceed with an intensive maintenance programme aimed at fixing its ailing infrastructure.</p>



<p>South Africa indicated in April it would change the licensing threshold to 10 MW from 1 MW but industry experts had hoped for more.</p>



<p>Ramaphosa said the amendment will be published within 60 days, but business collective Business Unity SA (BUSA) urged the government to cut that to within 30 days.</p>



<p>&#8220;While this change is well received…every day of delay and load shedding adds to our economic pressures,&#8221; it said. </p>



<p>($1 = 13.6417 rand) </p>



<p>(Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Tanisha Heiberg; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)</p>


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<p>Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani today tables the 2021/22 fiscal year budget to the parliament.</p>


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<p>If women&#8217;s sales could reach parity with men by 2025, the e-commerce sector could add nearly $15 billion to the African Market by 2030. This is according to a recent report by the International Finance Cooperation. CNBC Africa spoke with the Senior vice President of Operations at IFC, Stephanie Von Friedeburg for more.</p>


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<p>Kenya&#8217;s Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani is set to issue the 2021/22 Fiscal year budget statement tomorrow. This year&#8217;s budget is set in the context of a very challenging economic environment. So, what does the budget hold for SMEs who have been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic? CNBC Africa spoke with the Managing Director at Viffa Consult, Victor Otieno for more.</p>


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<p>Illovo Sugar South Africa initiated a project to develop up to 3 000 hectares of small-scale grower cane land. This is on the Kwa-Zulu Natal South Coast. In partnership with National Treasury through the Jobs Fund, this has lead to the creation of over 1 100 new jobs and the training of more than 1 600 people. Mamongae Mahlare, Managing Director at Illovo Sugar South Africa joins  CNBC Africa for more.</p>


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<p>The Africa Finance Corporation says it has exceeded 30 member states, representing more than half the continent after Burkina Faso, Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo became members of the development institution. Joining CNBC Africa for more is Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation.</p>


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<p>The CEO of Page Financials, Segun Akintemi says players in Nigeria’s finance industry are witnessing lots of request for loan restructuring because of customers losing their jobs or having their salaries slashed. Akintemi also says there has been more scrutiny towards lending to high volatile sectors. He joins CNBC Africa to discuss the impact of the pandemic on Nigeria’s lending space.</p>


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<p>Thungela had its trade debut on the JSE earlier this week with its share price opening at R25. The thermal coal producer said 76000 of its shares had been traded in the first 4 minutes, rubbishing claims that its shares are worth nothing. Piet Viljoen, Analyst &#038; Fund Manager joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


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<p>Ernst &#038; Young, one of the four largest international consulting firms, is inching closer in its bid to serve as a transaction adviser in the privatisation of 10 out of the 13 state-owned sugar factories in Ethiopia. Brooks Taye, Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Finance joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


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<p>Covid-19 has led to fundamental shifts in the world of work. And with this, business leaders are left with challenging tasks ahead. New research from Momentum Corporate suggests it is necessary to rewire approaches when it comes to leadership, culture, the employee value proposition and employee benefits. Joining CNBC Africa to unpack that research is Dumo Mbhethe, the CEO at Momentum Corporate.</p>


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<p>JOHANNESBURG, June 8 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa put his Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on special leave on Tuesday, after allegations his department irregularly awarded a COVID-19-related contract to a communications company controlled by his former aids.</p>



<p>Minister of Tourism Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane will serve as acting Minister of Health until further notice, Ramaphosa&#8217;s office said in a statement. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Tim Cocks)</p>


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<p>African countries have faced shortages holding back the rollout of urgently needed second doses, setting many countries back in the fight against COVID-19, so it still realistic for the continent to meet previous vaccination targets? John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Africa CDC on how the continent can meet its  vaccination targets


<p>The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $650 million in aid to Senegal to support the West African country&#8217;s COVID-19 recovery, it said in a statement late on Monday.</p>



<p>The announcement follows an earlier payment of $442 million to Senegal in April 2020, also to mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF said.</p>



<p>The pandemic has hit the Senegalese economy hard and caused growth to contract to an estimated 1.5% in 2020 from 5.3% in 2019, the IMF said. The Fund expects a modest recovery in 2021 with growth reaching 3.7% and forecast to reach 5.5% in 2022.</p>



<p>The $650 million will be paid over 18 months, with an immediate disbursement of $187 million, the IMF said.</p>



<p>&#8220;The 18-month arrangements &#8230; will provide a policy anchor for the next phase of the authorities&#8217; COVID-19 response and support a strong and job-rich recovery,&#8221; it said.</p>



<p>The West African country said last week that it plans to raise $500 million from the debt market to create jobs for young people as part of a response to riots in March. It also issued 775 million euros in Eurobonds.</p>



<p>Senegal, one of Africa&#8217;s most stable democracies, was rocked by its worst unrest in a decade in March after the arrest of a popular opposition politician triggered an explosion of pent-up anger over economic hardship.</p>



<p>Senegal has brought COVID-19 cases under control in the last few months, ramping up its vaccination drive, but there is a risk of a third wave, the IMF said. The health ministry has recorded 41,725 cases and 1,150 deaths from coronavirus to date. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Bate Felix and Jane Merriman)</p>


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<p>The World Bank says cocoa prices have been broadly stable in the past eight months with global production for the current season projected to be nearly 5 per cent higher than the 2019-2020 season. Meanwhile, Ghana is making progress on its processing efforts as they look to build a vibrant domestic chocolate industry. Edward George, Independent Commodities Expert joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


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<p>CEO of Xcellon Capital Advisors Chamberlain Peterside says social media has evolved as a robust platform for domestic and international commerce, political interaction, citizens engagement, news and entertainment and cannot be easily censored or eradicated. He joins CNBC Africa to explore how Nigeria&#8217;s Twitter ban poses direct and indirect threats to its economic recovery efforts.</p>


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<p>PRETORIA, June 8 (Reuters) – South Africa’s economy expanded at a slower rate in the first quarter of this year compared with the previous three months, as key sectors of mining and trade expanded while farming saw a contraction, data from the statistics agency showed on Tuesday.</p>



<p>The country’s gross domestic product expanded by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2021 on a seasonally adjusted and not annualised basis, after an expansion of 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020.</p>



<p>On a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis, the economy grew by 4.6% quarter-on-quarter, following growth of 5.8% in the previous quarter.</p>



<p>Mining expanded 4.2% on a seasonally adjusted, not annualised basis, and trade rose 1.5%. Agriculture fell 0.8%.</p>



<p>“We can see that our rise in the first quarter of 2021 hasn’t reached the levels where we have beenâ€¦ Indeed we see we haven’t come out of the woods sufficiently enough in terms of responding to what has happened in COVID-19 despite the fact that the economy is growing,” Statistician General Risenga Maluleke told a news conference.</p>



<p>On a year-on-year basis, GDP contracted 3.2% in the three months to the end of March, compared to a contraction of 4.2% in the previous quarter.</p>



<p>South Africa’s economy deteriorated sharply last year after the government imposed a strict lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The economy contracted 7% in 2020. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Alex Richardson and Gareth Jones)</p>


Newsletter

Surging food import costs threaten world’s poorest, FAO warns

South Africa to amend power regulations to boost supply – Ramaphosa

Key highlights of Kenya’s 2021/22 budget explained

IFC on how to grow women owned businesses on Africa’s e-commerce platforms

What the 2021 Kenyan budget means for SMEs

How Illovo Sugar SA is empowering Kwa-Zulu Natal communities with this fund

Burkina Faso, DRC and Morocco become newest members of AFC

COVID-19: How is Nigeria’s lending space evolving?

Why this analyst believes Thungela is massively undervalued

Plans to privatize Ethiopia’s sugar sector at advanced stage

Momentum Corporate on how the pandemic is shaping the world of work

South Africa’s health minister put on special leave over graft allegations

Africa CDC on how the continent can meet its vaccination targets

IMF approves $650 mln in aid for Senegal’s COVID-19 recovery

Ghana reinforces processing to boost cocoa returns

How Twitter ban poses threat to Nigeria’s economic recovery efforts

South Africa’s Economy Expands at Slower Rate in First Quarter

News Tips

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Newsletter

Surging food import costs threaten world’s poorest, FAO warns

South Africa to amend power regulations to boost supply – Ramaphosa

Key highlights of Kenya’s 2021/22 budget explained

IFC on how to grow women owned businesses on Africa’s e-commerce platforms

What the 2021 Kenyan budget means for SMEs

How Illovo Sugar SA is empowering Kwa-Zulu Natal communities with this fund

Burkina Faso, DRC and Morocco become newest members of AFC

COVID-19: How is Nigeria’s lending space evolving?

Why this analyst believes Thungela is massively undervalued

Plans to privatize Ethiopia’s sugar sector at advanced stage

Momentum Corporate on how the pandemic is shaping the world of work

South Africa’s health minister put on special leave over graft allegations

Africa CDC on how the continent can meet its vaccination targets

IMF approves $650 mln in aid for Senegal’s COVID-19 recovery

Ghana reinforces processing to boost cocoa returns

How Twitter ban poses threat to Nigeria’s economic recovery efforts

South Africa’s Economy Expands at Slower Rate in First Quarter

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters