North West University (NWU) Economics Professor, Waldo Krugell says that even though prices are high farmers unfortunately have a lot to worry about. "The first is crop damage due to excess rainfall late in the summer season. in Kwa-Zulu-Natal (KZN) grain and oilseed producers suffered losses and in other areas harvesting was delayed," says Krugell.  

He goes on to say that the second is rising input costs, fertilizer prices rose by up tp 50% this year. 

The state of South Africa's roads and port infrastructure is an additional source of concern for citrus and soft fruit exporters in particular. 

"Between now and November 170 million boxes of fruit must be packed and shipped and the flood damage and Durban harbor is a source of concern," says Krugell.

He adds that there is not much excess capacity at the other ports and worldwide there are concerns about the availability of cargo containers and about shipping schedules. 

He says that Wandile Sihlobo emphasizes that the long term solution is to invest in the agricultural value chain.