Agriculture rebounded to a 17.2% growth rate, lifting South Africa’s GDP growth to 0.6% in Quarter 4 of 2024 and for the 2024 year, according to Statistics SA’s national quarterly GDP figures released on 4 March 2025.
Commenting on the agriculture sector’s performance, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture Dr Ivan Meyer said, “Growth in this sector was driven by increased activity in field crops and animal production, as extreme weather occurrences subsided.” He added that this suggests a positive performance for the Western Cape’s fruit, grain, and livestock farming.
Investment Confidence and Export Growth in the Western Cape
Regarding economic growth in 2025, as of 5 March, S&P Global expects South Africa and the Western Cape’s economies to grow by 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively, with Agriculture (5%) and Trade (3.2%) key drivers in the province.
“Economic conditions are expected to improve as we continue to implement the priority focus areas of the Western Cape Growth For Jobs Strategy, which is building an environment conducive to improved economic growth and job creation,” said the Minister.
In Quarter 1 2025, the Bureau for Economic Research’s Business Confidence Index (BCI) for the Western Cape stood at 52, outperforming the rest of the country’s 45 index points.
Minister Meyer stated, “The Western Cape is the only province in positive investment territory. Effective governance and clear economic growth plans inspire hope and confidence. We have seen record exports of agri products from the Western Cape due to increased agri production. Our farmers, agri workers, and producers remain resilient and are key drivers of our Growth For Jobs strategstrategy.”
Premier Alan Winde added, “Our agricultural sector is a critically important component of our economy. This one sector alone employs more than 200 000 people in the Western Cape, so ensuring its resilience and boosting its growth potential is a priority, especially in the fiscal climate we currently find ourselves in. We will keep supporting our rural and farming communities in any way we can, helping them to become part of our economic recovery and success.”
“Amid current geopolitical developments, we forecast more significant demand for our agri exports, and we will keep engaging with our global trading partners to facilitate more exports. A 5% increase in our agri exports alone over 5 years will result in 22 900 new jobs in the Western Cape. Through economic diplomacy, we will continue to target new markets in the Middle East, ASEAN group, India, China and Africa to unlock further employment in our region. Growing the economy and creating more jobs are the Western Cape Government’s apex priorities, and the agri sector is ready to deliver,” concluded the Minister.