'SA fruit walks a tightrope with BRICS alignment'

South Africa‘s citrus industry , in particular, could come under pressure if the country does not take heed of its international political alignments, according to industry stakeholders.

- By Lindi Botha

South Africa needs to consider the repercussions of its political alignment to avoid losing market access for its agricultural commodities.

This was the sentiment of members of the agribusiness sector after South Africa took over the chair of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group this year.

John Purchase, an independent agribusiness consultant who previously headed up the agribusiness BRICS working group appointed by government, told Farmer’s Weekly that there had previously been advantages in belonging to BRICS. However, the situation had changed with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Membership has now become a complicated set of pros and cons.”