South Africa
Source: www.thedtic.gov.za

South Africa must rebuild its manufacturing strength to be able to fully benefit from the opportunities in the BRICS markets. This needs to be done through deeper partnerships and careful use of both demand and supply-side measures.

This was said today at the BRICS Business Council meeting by Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel.

The Conference attracted small and large industrialists and was a hybrid event, with attendance at in Sandton and through virtual platforms.

Minister Patel highlighted the crucial role of manufacturing in strong and dynamic economies.

"Over a number of years, manufacturing was seen as a sunset industry, a relic of an age that was passing, and policy-makers were urged to abandon efforts to support the industry and seek opportunity in other sectors of the economy. In the case of South Africa, the country rapidly opened its trade-exposed sectors to what was described as the bracing effects of global competition, but without supporting local firms to become stronger and more dynamic. The results were painful to see – we lost critical manufacturing capacity, Minister Patel said.

"It led to a wave of de-industrialisation pressures, and as core feeder-factories were closed down, they impacted on other parts of supply-chains. Our localisation project is about working with the business community to rebuild the foundations of manufacturing, to strengthen industrial capacity that can supply both the domestic and export markets," he said.

"Manufacturing is a big driver of employment with the strongest employment multiplier. IDC research shows that for every one manufacturing job, another three jobs are created across the economy, in both supplier industries and services sectors. It is an earner of foreign exchange and a driver of innovation, of research and development; and in times like the Covid-19 crisis, countries with capacity relied on their industries to produce food, personal protective equipment and medical supplies," he said.

Minister Patel noted that the country's reimagined industrialisation agenda is based on building dynamic firms and economic inclusion:

• To retain and modernise traditional sectors, like steel, textiles and clothing
• To expand advanced-manufacturing sectors such as autos and chemicals
• To develop national resilience through expanding sectors in food and healthcare; and
• To nurture new industries such as the green economy and the digital economy.

Sector partnership agreements, known as Master Plans, have now been put in place in five sectors, with a further one, in the furniture industry, being close to conclusion.

These initiatives have positively impacted on sentiment and investment; and Minister Patel pointed to the recent R16 billion investment announcement by the Ford Motor Company and the R1 billion investment in the poultry industry.

He pointed to progress made during Covid-19 to repurpose South African manufacturing capacity:

• Local production of hand sanitiser products expanded greatly, supplying the domestic market and also exporting R1,7bn worth of product to other African countries;
• Manufacturing of medical-grade face masks was ramped up from a capacity of 6m to 16m masks per month
• Local innovation and manufacturing capabilities were combined to produce 20 000 CPAP ventilators, used particularly during the second surge.

"New technologies provide significant opportunities, not only for new industries, but to retrofit established sectors to be more flexible and green. Additive manufacturing, the convergence of the physical and digital worlds, offer enormous opportunities for a location like SA," he said.

"Climate-change is another significant vulnerability for people and economies. To ensure that we contribute to a more climate-resilient industrialisation, Government will focus its efforts on identifying green economic opportunities: in new products and sectors as well as in greening traditional smoke-stack industries," he said.

Minister Patel called on the manufacturing sector to work on opening export opportunities in BRICS countries, through three measures.

First, to produce detailed export-opportunity studies for each BRICS country, identifying the products that can be exported and the support infrastructure needed.

Second, to build greater cohesion within SA manufacturing, with sharing of ideas between industrialists on how to penetrate export markets; and greater use of manufacturing networking to address issues of technology innovation and marketing, among others.

Third, to develop an innovation project to bring together product development and manufacturing people to identify new opportunities where SA may not yet have capacity, but for which there are significant markets in BRICS and indeed beyond it.

He called on the manufacturing sector to work on attracting bright young people, who can bring energy and new ideas to the making of products.

South Africa
Source: www.sabcnews.com

СOVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to the entire human race.

This week, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel represented South Africa during a BRICS Business Council meeting.

In a statement released afterwards by his department, minister Patel was quoted as saying South Africa must rebuild its manufacturing strength to be able to fully benefit from the opportunities in the BRICS markets.

For the uninitiated BRICS, which is an acronym referring to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is deemed to be a strategic partnership of like-minded nations en route to similar path of growth and economic development

Way too often the South Africa's media gets bombarded by communiques from the government detailing its role and participation in BRICS forums.

Since 2010 South Africa has been a member of this potentially powerful select group of continental giants that plan to collectively solidify their influence in international organisations, institutions and markets alike.

Yet, truth be told, South Africa has evidently not derived much in its arsenal to prove its benefits of the exclusive BRICS membership a decade later.

I recently lamented South Africa's apparent failure to procure COVID-19 vaccines from both China and Russia. South Africa's neighbour to the north, Zimbabwe, has already received China's Sinovac vaccine.

Countries in North and East Africa are utilising their relations with Russia and China and accessing their vaccines. China's vaccines are being administered to tens of millions in China alone, and surely if they weren't safe Beijing would never have authorized the jabs?

As for Russia's Sputnik V, no less than 55 countries around the world have endorsed its use. President Vladimir Putin recently took it in public. Sadly, South Africa, a BRICS ally, is not among the 55. This is quite mind-boggling.

Elsewhere in the European Union, Germany is putting pressure on Brussels to purchase Sputnik V ahead of the much-anticipated regulatory approval.

Bavarian Prime Minister, Markus Soeder, has been one of the loudest eminent German public office bearers to call for a speedy approval of Sputnik V in his country. "We need to think more freely," he was recently quoted as saying, indicating the presence of politics-at-play amid a bid to acquire the Russian vaccine.

Meanwhile, in Hungary, the country's foreign minister recently became the first EU politician to take Sputnik V, live on camera.

Italy is set to become the first EU country to produce the Russian vaccine on home soil. The clamour for the Russian vaccine is ubiquitous, yet South Africa – in spite of the scarcity of the vaccines, and the global scramble for access, does not seem to be at Moscow's or Beijing's front queue. So much for BRICS allies!

COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to the entire human race. It is unwise, therefore, to play the usual Geo-politics with the beleaguered lives of innocent men, women and children.

This is a sad reality about our international world order today. Even as the world is faced with a common threat, sectarian politics nonetheless reign supreme. This regrettable reality was recently revealed in the annual report of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The US government appear to have taken advantage of its cordial bilateral relations with Brazil to convince Brasilia to reject Sputnik V. Consider that this under-handedness happens in the wake of Brazil's recorded over 280 000 COVID-19-related deaths.

Yet vaccinating the Brazilians with Sputnik V was seemingly viewed by Washington as a potentially unacceptable victory to Moscow.

The world had waited to bear witness to President Joe Biden ushering in his electioneering time promises of a new era of diplomatic fair-play, but it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This is the kind of uncouth yet frantic diplomacy that is going on between the powerful countries and their weaker counterparts. The worst-case scenario and Heaven forbid, could be a threat of unilateral economic sanctions against countries that purchase either the Russian or Chinese vaccines.

This is a real imbalance that the UN needs to address and redress as a matter of utmost urgency. Unilateralism must never triumph over multilateralism, otherwise what is the use of having international organisations in the 21st century?

The world does not need any weaponisation of COVID-19 vaccines; instead, it needs a compassionate protection of lives by those their electorates have trusted to put in office.

China
Source: www.xinhuanet.com

JOHANNESBURG, March 26 (Xinhua) -- South Africa must build its manufacturing strength to be able to benefit from the opportunities in the markets of BRICS, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, said Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel Friday.

While addressing the BRICS Business Council meeting, Patel called on the manufacturing sector to work on opening export opportunities in BRICS countries through producing detailed export opportunity studies for each BRICS country, identifying the products that can be exported and the supportive infrastructure needed.

"Manufacturing is a big driver of employment with the strongest employment multiplier. Industrial Development Corporation research shows that for every one manufacturing job, another three jobs are created across the economy, in both supplier industries and services sectors," he said. "It is an earner of foreign exchange and a driver of innovation, of research and development and in times like the COVID-19 crisis, countries with capacity relied on their industries to produce food, personal protective equipment and medical supplies."

Patel said BRICS countries should build greater cohesion for sharing of ideas between industrialists on how to penetrate export markets and greater use of manufacturing networking to address technology innovation and marketing.

He suggested that BRICS should develop an innovation project to bring together product development and manufacturing people to identify new opportunities where South Africa may not yet have capacity, but for which there are significant markets in BRICS and indeed beyond it. Enditem

Russia
Source: www.mid.ru

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be in this wonderful place, enjoying the unique nature of this province. We really do admire these landscapes, but I can assure you that this has not prevented us from holding extremely business-like and practical talks. They were held in a traditionally friendly and trust-based manner.

We pointed out once again that Russia and China continue their close and fruitful cooperation in virtually all spheres on the international stage despite the coronavirus pandemic, in all the spheres which have been identified as our priorities during contacts between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of China Xi Jinping.

We will continue to strengthen our relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. We have had a useful discussion on ways to boost our practical cooperation in the conditions created by the current epidemiological restrictions.

We highlighted the preparations being made for Russian-Chinese contacts at the high and highest levels. We have submitted to our partners a draft joint statement of our heads of state on the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China.

We discussed our positions on the main international topics and found them similar. Moscow and Beijing stand for developing interstate relations on the principles of mutual respect and a balance of each other's interests, justice and non-interference in others' internal affairs. We reject zero sum political games and the illegal unilateral sanctions, which our Western colleagues have been using increasingly more often.

We share the opinion that Russian-Chinese foreign policy interaction remains a vital factor in global affairs. We pointed out the destructive character of US aspiration to undermine the UN-centric international legal framework by using the military-political alliances of the Cold War period and creating similar closed alliances. We noted the growing importance of the joint activities of Russia, China and a wide range of other countries to preserve the current system of international law in the context of the increasing Western attempts to promote its concept of a rules-based international order.

We expressed our appreciation for the high level of coordination at various multilateral platforms, including the UN, the G20, the SCO, BRICS, RIC, APEC, as well as EAS and other ASEAN-based regional cooperation bodies. We spoke about the preparations for the summit of the UN Security Council permanent members, which has been proposed by President Putin and supported by President Xi Jinping.

As Minister Wang Yi said, we have signed a joint statement, which reflects the views of Russia and China on vital issues such as democracy, human rights, international law and the necessity to find collective approaches to solving global problems.

We signed an annual plan for consultations between our foreign ministries. It stipulates numerous contacts this year at the level of deputy foreign ministers and the heads of relevant departments designed to hold practical discussions on a wide range of global and regional matters.

Speaking on behalf of our delegation, I would like to once again express our deep gratitude to our Chinese friends for their hospitality and for substantive joint work.

Question: How does Russia plan on moving away from using international payment systems controlled by the West? Are there any specific agreements with China to create a common system as opposed to the Western ones? What can it be based on? Russia's Mir card or China's UnionPay system?

Sergey Lavrov: This work has been underway for quite a long time now in different areas. We have our own financial messaging system. The respective financial departments of Russia and China plan to expand its use.

For many years now we have been trying to transfer trade to settlements in national currencies. There's a corresponding mechanism which is quite effective. We are switching to the national currency in our trade with other major partners.

This is the imperative of our time. The people behind the global monetary system suddenly decided they were unhappy with the way other countries, in particular China, are using this system. China is beating the West at its own game. Hence, the reaction of the United States. Wang Yi covered this in detail. You cannot do global business by means of ultimatums and sanctions, or force other countries to behave as expected of them. We have a proverb: You can't force your love on another person. Unfortunately, the United States has not learned this and is acting from the opposite position.

I'm convinced that Russia and China will do their best to ensure their safety and protection against the threats coming from the states that are unfriendly towards our respective countries. This also applies to ways of conducting trade, mutual settlements and everything else that makes us stronger.

Question (translated from Chinese and addressed to Wang Yi): Chinese and Russian vaccines are being delivered to dozens of countries all around the world. There are unfounded speculations that China is promoting "vaccine diplomacy" and Russia is trying to increase its influence. What can you say about this?

Sergey Lavrov (speaking after Wang Yi): I fully support what Wang Yi said. From the outset of the pandemic, Russia and China have been showing an example of openness, cooperation and mutual assistance. This interaction continues to this day, including in the sphere of vaccine production and distribution. Our respective institutions remain in contact on these matters.

On March 22, President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on vaccine production and distribution. He clearly spoke in favour of everyone being guided solely by considerations of humanity and the interest of saving lives rather than geopolitical or commercial approaches to overcoming competition. Everyone, including our partners in the West who are trying to portray Russia and China as vaccine diplomacy scammers, must keep this in mind. This is not true.

Question: China and Russia are under sanctions pressure from the United States and the EU. Do our countries plan to share their experience of confronting this pressure? How justified is the opinion that both countries' tense relations with the Western powers make them move ever closer to one another?

Sergey Lavrov: We have covered Russia and China's reaction to sanctions and the illegitimate unilateral restrictions already today. We share the understanding that these methods are unacceptable in international life. We have more than once stated our position on this score, including in the Joint Statement. I'm convinced that this approach will be reiterated in a clear and unambiguous manner in the document on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between Russia and China that our leaders will approve.

In addition to our principled approaches that are set forth in public documents, we closely cooperate with many countries at the UN in order to counter these practices. As you are aware, the UN has a Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures. This is already a fairly serious practical move to clarify the unacceptability of this policy. The United States, Europe and the West in general are, in fact, replacing diplomacy, the art which they are losing, with the steps seeking to impose their own rules on everyone else. In their opinion, these rules rather than international law must underlie the international order. Sanctions are among these rules.

Russia and China do not ally against anyone. Geographically, our country is located on the vast Eurasian continent. China is our good neighbour, as is the EU. We have always been interested in promoting our relations across all areas. Europe has severed these relations and destroyed the mechanisms that have been created over many years. There are only a few European partner countries that have a desire to act based on their national interests.

Objectively, this led to cooperation between Russia and China developing faster than what is left of relations with the European countries. Importantly, there are no relations with the EU as an organisation. The infrastructure was destroyed by unilateral decisions made by Brussels. If and when the Europeans decide to eliminate this anomaly in contacts with their largest neighbour, we will be ready to build up relations between us on the basis of equality and a search for a balance of interests. But so far, all has been quiet on the Western front, whereas the East offers a very intense agenda, which is getting more varied every single year.

India
Source: streetfins.com

"BRICs" is an acronym that refers to four of the most economically important emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The acronym sometimes includes a capital "S" ("BRICS") to include South Africa. Together, the BRICs account for over 40 percent of the world's population. For comparison, the United States and Europe make up around 14 percent combined.

Origin of the Name The term BRICs was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs, a bank. The financial institution projected that over the coming decade, the BRICs would rapidly become an integral part of the global economy. A second report estimated that by 2041, the BRICs' economies would be larger than the six largest Western economies. (The year was later amended to 2032.) The bank suggested that the BRICs offered an attractive opportunity for multinational firms to expand internationally and for individual investors to earn high returns on their investments.


The Results The prediction has proven to be largely accurate. Since 2001, the BRICs' share of global GDP has grown from 8 percent to nearly 22 percent. Growth among the BRICs has been distributed unevenly, though. While China and India have grown at a faster than expected pace, the natural resource-based economies of Brazil and Russia have floundered. Russia faced a financial crisis from 2014-2017, and in 2016, Brazil had its worst recession in history.

What is "GDP"? GDP, short for "Gross Domestic Product", is a value which represents the size of a country's economy. GDP is calculated by adding together all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period. USA has the world's largest GDP at just over $20 trillion dollars in 2018. For comparison, that same year, China had a GDP of $13.5 trillion and India had a GDP of $2.7 trillion.

Conclusion Nonetheless, all of the BRICs do remain very relevant. According to PwC, a consultancy, China and India will be the two biggest economies in the world by 2050. Brazil and Russia will be the fifth and sixth biggest economies, respectively.

The BRICs held their first summit in 2009 and created a formal grouping in 2010. Going forward, expect these countries to have ever more influence, not only on the global economy, but over all foreign policy decisions made by the current established powers.

Germany
Source: www.db.com

"BRICs" is an acronym that refers to four of the most economically important emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The acronym sometimes includes a capital "S" ("BRICS") to include South Africa. Together, the BRICs account for over 40 percent of the world's population. For comparison, the United States and Europe make up around 14 percent combined.

Origin of the Name The term BRICs was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs, a bank. The financial institution projected that over the coming decade, the BRICs would rapidly become an integral part of the global economy. A second report estimated that by 2041, the BRICs' economies would be larger than the six largest Western economies. (The year was later amended to 2032.) The bank suggested that the BRICs offered an attractive opportunity for multinational firms to expand internationally and for individual investors to earn high returns on their investments.


The Results The prediction has proven to be largely accurate. Since 2001, the BRICs' share of global GDP has grown from 8 percent to nearly 22 percent. Growth among the BRICs has been distributed unevenly, though. While China and India have grown at a faster than expected pace, the natural resource-based economies of Brazil and Russia have floundered. Russia faced a financial crisis from 2014-2017, and in 2016, Brazil had its worst recession in history.

What is "GDP"? GDP, short for "Gross Domestic Product", is a value which represents the size of a country's economy. GDP is calculated by adding together all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period. USA has the world's largest GDP at just over $20 trillion dollars in 2018. For comparison, that same year, China had a GDP of $13.5 trillion and India had a GDP of $2.7 trillion.

Conclusion Nonetheless, all of the BRICs do remain very relevant. According to PwC, a consultancy, China and India will be the two biggest economies in the world by 2050. Brazil and Russia will be the fifth and sixth biggest economies, respectively.

The BRICs held their first summit in 2009 and created a formal grouping in 2010. Going forward, expect these countries to have ever more influence, not only on the global economy, but over all foreign policy decisions made by the current established powers.

Did You Know?

• Goldman Sachs invented a second term, "The Next 11", to identify other emerging markets with the potential to match the BRICs' economic growth. This group includes Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Turkey.
• In 2014, the BRICS founded the "New Development Bank" (NDB), a financial institution that makes loans to support emergent nations and is widely considered a counterweight to the US-led World Bank. Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said the establishment of the NDB "reflects a fundamental change in global economic and political power.

South Africa
Source: farmingportal.co.za

This past week, we held a hybrid session with some colleagues and Agbiz members joining us at Pretoria's offices, while others joined online.

The event's primary focus was to explore how South Africa's agriculture and agribusiness sectors could gain more traction within BRICS. This theme is premised on the observation that South Africa's agriculture is expanding and is ripe to contest more international markets. In the next few years, the sector could enjoy a growth spurt, especially if the support by government policies, including the master plan on agriculture and agro-processing, come into play.

To get a sense of how South Africa's agricultural sector has expanded in the past decade, consider the sector's gross value-added since 2010, which has now expanded by 44%. In volume terms, South Africa's agricultural production has grown by 19% over the same period. Encouragingly, this expansion has occurred across all subsectors of agriculture and agro-processing value, i.e., horticulture (up 70%), animal products (up 43%), field crops (up 22%) and agro-processing (up 13%), according to data from the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) and Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP). Notably, the long-term projections from BFAP also present an optimistic picture of South Africa's agricultural output growth, as illustrated in Exhibit 1 (in the attached file). The key message here is that South Africa's agriculture is growing, and export markets should be diversified and expanded to accommodate the fields' output volumes.

Bolstering the proposal for export-market expansion is that some of South Africa's agricultural products outputs have already surpassed targets set out in the National Development Plan (NDP) in 2012. These include citrus, macadamias, dairy and pork, amongst others. Meanwhile, the soybeans, avocados, apples, and table grapes are fast approaching the NDP levels. This added production and normal growth in other major crops, fruits, vegetables, and livestock need new and growing markets. In our view, the new markets that the sector should be looking more at are in BRICS. The industry should hone a BRICS strategy that is complemented by robust bilateral engagements with each of the BRICS countries.

We highlighted in last week's note that South Africa's agricultural sector is highly export-orientated, with exports accounting for roughly half of the production in value terms, about US$10,2 billion in 2020 (up 3% y/y). Notably, just last week, colleagues from the citrus industry announced that the "South African citrus industry would likely break all previous export season records with an estimated 158,7 million cartons in 2021. If the estimate is reached, it will represent a third consecutive season of record export volumes, with 130 million cartons exported in 2019, followed by 146 million cartons in 2020." Moreover, the industry estimates indicate that the available citrus for exports could increase by 300 000 tonnes over the next three years.

The expected growth in South Africa's agriculture sector and export markets also calls for increased attention to logistical efficiencies at the ports. South Africa has thus far managed to achieve some efficiency gains. The industry has been working closely with the government and other stakeholders, such as Transnet to smooth the flow at the ports. There is ongoing work at Transnet to decongest the Durban port. The multi-stakeholder cooperation was key to enabling higher export volumes during a pandemic, and this saw South Africa recording the aforementioned second-largest value on record of about US$10,2 billion in 2020. Export markets should be the main focus going forward.

Back to the BRICS story, the attractive markets within this grouping are China and India. This is because they account for large agricultural import volumes, have growing populations, and changing consumer taste. Economic recovery in these countries has been robust. As things stand, the BRIC(S) countries account for a relatively small share of South Africa's agriculture exports – an average of 10% over the past 10 years in total agricultural exports of US$9,5 billion. In this respect, China, Russia, India and Brazil are the leading markets, mainly for citrus, wool, nuts, apples and pears, wine, grapes, sugar and jams, amongst other products.

Yet, BRICS countries account for an average of 12% (US$180 Billion) in global agricultural exports, which means South Africa could play a meaningful role in this market. China is the largest importer accounting for 68% of the total BRICS agriculture import of US$180 billion, followed by Russia (14%), India (10%), Brazil (5%) and South Africa (3%), according to data from Trade Map.

South African policymakers' engagements with their BRIC(S) counterparts are about lowering tariffs for certain agricultural products and addressing the non-tariff barriers. Consider wine trade in China – the likes of Australia and Chile accessed the Chinese market at 0% preferential tariffs. Meanwhile, South African producers face 14% import tariffs. Hence, competition has been challenging for the wine industry and a range of agricultural products. It is also important that the industry pays closer attention to geopolitical developments in this region. China has sanctioned Australia for criticizing some of its policy positions. These sanctions entail trade restrictions. Other countries have been able to take advantage of the gap left by Australia to meet China's import demand.

To emphasize a point we made last week, we do not anticipate this being a smooth engagement. China and India will most likely want a reciprocal engagement with South Africa, which puts South Africa in a challenging position as the country is also pushing its localization strategy. This is a point that industry players should keep in mind when engaging with the local authorities about the export market aspirations. The policymakers will also need to make necessary trade-offs, weighing both our export ambitions and the localization strategy. Trade policies and sector development strategies will need to be calibrated in ways that take advantage of new market opportunities.

Rising fuel prices likely to add cost pressures on the SA farming sector

The lower oil prices in 2020 kept South Africa's agricultural input costs at reasonably lower levels in 2020. But this year will not be the same; the Brent crude oil price has recovered from lower levels last seen this period last year when the pandemic hit the world, and there was heightened uncertainty about the economic conditions. On 18 March 2021, the Brent crude oil price was up by 125% y/y, trading around US$63,48 per barrel.

South Africa is an importer of oil and fertilizer, and therefore at the cold-face of these price increases. The costs will be reflected in the diesel and fertilizer prices for South African agriculture and the agribusinesses sector. This also comes when the domestic agricultural industry is approaching a high consumption period for both fuel and fertilizer – planting period for winter crops and harvesting for summer crops, all will gain momentum from May 2021. Fuel generally accounts for between 11% and 13% of grain production costs, while fertilizer constitutes about 35% of grain farmers' input costs and a significant share in other agricultural commodities and crops. Also, it is worth noting that South Africa transport by road roughly 81% of maize, 76% of wheat, and 69% of soybeans. On average, 75% of national grains and oilseeds are transported by road. While grain transporting occurs throughout the year, the harvest period is hectic and involves increased fuel consumption. This means farm managers and agribusiness will have to plan for an environment different from last year, with prospects of increasing costs this time around.

A brief update on global grain and oilseed production conditions

Last week we released the first quarter of 2021 results of the Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI), which showed an improvement from 61 points in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 64. This is the highest level of the Agbiz/IDC ACI since the second quarter of 2014. A level above the neutral 50-point mark implies that agribusinesses are optimistic about operating conditions in South Africa. These results likely reflect not only the robust performance of South Africa's agricultural sector in 2020, where gross value-added expanded by 13,1% y/y, but also positive early signs for another season of large harvests in 2020/21 from most subsectors. This first-quarter survey was conducted in the first two weeks of March 2021 and covered agribusinesses operating in all agricultural subsectors across South Africa. The ACI comprises ten subindices, and most of these increased in the first quarter of 2021. More information on the ACI can be accessed by clicking here.

Data releases this week

On Thursday the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) will release the weekly grain producer deliveries data for the week of 19 March. This data cover summer and winter crops, although the focus is still on winter crops whose harvest has recently been completed. On 12 March, about 5 484 tonnes of winter wheat were delivered to commercial silos. This placed the 2020/21 wheat producer deliveries at 1,99 million tonnes, which equates to 94% of the expected harvest of 2,11 million tonnes. From April onwards, the focus will shift to summer crops as the harvest process will soon be gaining momentum.

On Friday, SAGIS will release the weekly grain trade data for the week of 19 March. In the previous week of 12 March, South Africa's 2020/21 total maize exports were at 2,28 million tonnes, which equates to 85% of the seasonal export forecast of 2,69 million tonnes. In terms of wheat, South Africa is a net importer. On 12 March, imports amounted to 663 414 tonnes, which equates to 42% of the seasonal import forecast of 1,58 million tonnes.

Globally, the notable data release will be the US weekly export sales data released by the United States Department of Agriculture on Friday. Here, we will continue to monitor China's buying activity of US maize and soybeans.

China
Source: www.ndb.int

On March 24, 2021, the New Development Bank (NDB) successfully priced a new 3-year fixed rate RMB 5 billion Bond in the China Interbank Bond Market. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) bond was issued under the UNDP Sustainable Development Goals Impact Standards for Bonds (UNDP SDG Standard) as well as the SDG Finance Taxonomy (China) and was issued as a part of the Bank's RMB 20 billion Bond Programme in the China Interbank Bond Market.

The issuance garnered strong interest from a diversified investor base both onshore in mainland China, as well as offshore. The bond was priced at the tighter end of price guidance at a yield of 3.22%.

NDB has become the first issuer to use the UNDP SDG Standard as well as the SDG Finance Taxonomy (China) in the Debt Capital Market. The transaction garnered notable demand from a geographically diverse investor base. The final order book was in excess of RMB 10 bln, more than 2 times oversubscribed. The geographic distribution of investors was as follows: China mainland-51%, APAC (excl. China mainland)-27.5%, EMEA-15%, Americas-6.5%.

The proceeds of the bond will be fully utilized to finance RMB 7 bln Emergency Program Loan to the People's Republic of China for Supporting China's Economic Recovery from COVID-19. This Program is aligned primarily with Sustainable Development Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

"We are delighted to be the pilot issuer under the UNDP SDG Bond Standards under UNDP China SDG Finance Taxonomy," said Mr. Leslie Maasdorp, Vice President and CFO of NDB. "NDB has a strong focus on sustainability and development impact in line with the SDGs. In this regards, we map each project to a primary SDG and additional SDGs. Our strategic objective is to mobilize funds for those projects that generate positive economic, social and environmental benefits for society as well as bridge the financing gap to achieve the SDGs."

"It is encouraging to see the positive reaction by investors to this SDG bond issued by NDB, which marks the first instance globally of a multilateral development bank putting UNDP's SDG Finance Standards to the test," said Ms. Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China. "The enthusiasm by the capital market demonstrates the important role that NDB can play in leveraging finance to support the attainment of the SDGs. We are excited to join hands with NDB, taking this pioneering first step to provide lessons and evidence that investing in the SDGs can generate economic return as well as social and environmental benefits."

"The New Development Bank, a pioneer MDB issuer in the panda bond market, has yet again closed another milestone transaction," said Mr. Hu Kun, the General Manager of the Investment Banking and Asset Management Department of the Bank of China Limited. "Sustainable development has always been a spotlight in China's market, the NDB's strong SDG focus and the bond offered exactly matches the market interest, and the result of such collaboration is a well-accepted bond with 51% allocated to onshore investors and 49% allocated to offshore investors, pricing through the secondary market valuation of the NDB's outstanding bond by 2bps."

The Bank of China Ltd. acted as the lead underwriter and bookrunner of the issuance. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., Deutsche Bank (China) Co., Ltd., DBS Bank (China) Limited, CITIC Securities Co., Ltd acted as the joint lead underwriters for the Bond.

In December, 2020, the NDB and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) exchanged official letters and established a channel of communication and technical knowledge exchange to advance SDG finance.

Background information

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. According to the NDB's General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank's operational strategy for 2017-2021. The NDB received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch and AAA foreign currency long-term issuer rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) and Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA).

On October 28, 2020, the NDB has successfully registered its second RMB Bond Programme in the China Interbank Bond Market. The NDB has been granted approval to raise up to RMB 20 billion in the China Interbank Bond Market within 2 years of the Programme registration date. The proceeds of the Programme will be used to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the Bank's member countries. Bond offerings under the Programme will be eligible to institutional investors in the China Interbank Bond Market as well as offshore RMB investors through the Bond Connect scheme between Mainland China and Hong Kong.

China
Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

BEIJING, March 25 (Sputnik) - The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has issued three-year bonds worth 5 billion yuan ($765.3 million) in the China Interbank Bond Market, the bank announced on Thursday.

"On March 24, 2021, the New Development Bank (NDB) successfully priced a new 3-year fixed rate RMB 5 billion Bond in the China Interbank Bond Market. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) bond was issued under the UNDP Sustainable Development Goals Impact Standards for Bonds (UNDP SDG Standard) as well as the SDG Finance Taxonomy (China) and was issued as a part of the Bank's RMB 20 billion Bond Programme in the China Interbank Bond Market," the NDB said in a press release.

The bonds aim at financing the Emergency Program Loan worth 7 billion yuan to China, the first emergency assistance given by the NDB to the Asian country last March to support its economy heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

In July 2016, the NDB issued its first five-year "green bonds" valued at 3 billion yuan.

Last year, the NDB registered its second bond program with the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors that allowed the bank to raise up to 20 billion yuan within two years from the program's registration. The proceeds will be used to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects within BRICS and in other emerging economies and developing countries.

South Africa
Source: www.businesslive.co.za

SA agricultural stakeholders want to increase exports to the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, SA) bloc of countries. This message came out sharply during a hybrid event of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA (Agbiz) with members, commodity organisations and government representatives.

The event's primary focus was to explore how SA's agriculture and agribusiness sectors could gain more traction within Brics. This theme is premised on the observation that SA's agricultural sector is expanding and is ripe to contest more international markets.

Policymakers' engagements with their counterparts should be aimed at lowering tariffs and tackling nontariff barriers.

The Agricultural Business Chamber said that there was consensus in the sector that South Africa's agriculture was expanding and "ripe" to contest more international markets.

Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said that in the next few years, the sector could enjoy a growth spurt, especially if the support by government policies, including the master plan on agriculture and agro-processing, come into play.

Agbiz said that within the BRICS story, the attractive markets within this grouping were China and India who accounted for large agricultural import volumes, had growing populations and changing consumer tastes. "Economic recovery in these countries has been robust. As things stand, the BRIC(S) countries account for a relatively small share of South Africa's agriculture exports, an average of 10 percent over the past 10 years in total agricultural exports of US$9,5 billion. In this respect, China, Russia, India and Brazil are the leading markets, mainly for citrus, wool, nuts, apples and pears, wine, grapes, sugar and jams, amongst other products," said Sihlobo.

He said that yet, BRICS countries accounted for an average of 12 percent (US$180 Billion) in global agricultural exports, which meant South Africa could play a meaningful role in this market. China was the largest importer accounting for 68 percent of the total BRICS agriculture import of US$180 billion, followed by Russia (14 percent), India (10percent), Brazil (5 percent) and South Africa (3 percent), according to data from Trade Map.

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3441
TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2021.

WORLD FORUM AGAINST TERRORISM

3441. SHRI ANIL DESAI:

Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) the number of international forum to fight against terrorism;

(b) whether India is also a member of any of such forum; and

(c) the name of the member countries of such organisation/forum and the activities they have carried out against terrorism?


ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)

(a) There are several governmental and non-governmental international fora to fight against terrorism, prominent among them include United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) subsidiary bodies such as Counter Terrorism Committee (UNCTC) and the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (D'aesh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF), Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) etc. In addition, several regional, plurilateral and multilateral groupings such as BRICS, South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bay of Bengal initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), European Union (EU) etc., have set up mechanisms to fight against terrorism. Cooperation on counter terrorism is also effected through Interpol.

(b) Yes. India is a member of several such fora. India also engages through the mechanisms of Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism (JWG-CT) with senior interlocutors of 25 countries and a few regional, plurilateral and multilateral groupings such as BRICS, BIMSTEC, EU, etc. India also participates in the activities of counter terrorism mechanisms established under SAARC, ARF, SCO etc. India has also signed bilateral Memorandum of Understanding to combat terrorism and transnational crimes with several key countries.

(c) Various international fora have different member countries, UNOCT has all the 193 member states of United Nations as its members while the membership of subsidiary bodies of UNSC keeps changing every year except the 5 permanent members of UNSC. Similarly, FATF has 39 members while GCTF has 30 members. These fora carry out various activities for countering terrorism like establishing intelligence and information exchange mechanisms, organising workshops for exchange of good practices, developing toolkits and guidance manuals, capacity building initiatives for law enforcement officials etc., on the themes of countering radicalisation, combating terrorism, countering terror financing, countering terrorist use of internet etc.

China
Source: link.springer.com

Abstract

Environmental pollution is a geopolitical problem, and researchers have not considered it seriously yet. This study examines the asymmetric influence of geopolitical risk on energy consumption and CO2 emissions in BRICS economies using the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model (NARDL) testing method over the period of 1985–2019. Therefore, we observed that in the long run, a positive and negative change in geopolitical risk has negative effect on energy consumption in India, Brazil, and China. The outcomes confirmed that an increase in geopolitical risk has negative effect on CO2 emissions in Russia and South Africa. Although a decrease in geopolitical risk has negative effects on CO2 emissions in India, China, South Africa, it has positive coefficient in Russia in the long run. Based on empirical findings, we also revealed that asymmetries mostly exist in terms of magnitude rather than direction. Our empirical results are country and group specific. The findings call for important changes in energy and environment policies to accommodate geopolitical risks.

Russia
Source: www.nkibrics.ru

In order to facilitate cooperation between the BRICS Academies of Sciences Russian National Committee on BRICS Research hosts the international conference "National strategies and common agenda for the post-COVID 19 recovery in BRICS countries: a way to resilient and sustainable future" in cooperation with the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The conference will be held on March 30, 2021 (1 p.m. GMT+3).

The goal is to intensify dialogue between BRICS experts on issues of economic development in the post-pandemic world in order to identify common goals and tools to achieve them.

Working language: English.

E-mail for registration to get ZOOM link: gorbacheva@nkibrics.ru

Also watch live on YouTube.

Opening remarks:

• Dr. Elena Lenchuk, Director of the Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences
• Dr. Victoria Panova, Acting Director of the Russian National Committee on BRICS Research; Vice-President for International Relations, Far Eastern Federal University
• H.E. Mr. Pavel Knyazev, Ambassador-at-large, Russian Sous-Sherpa in BRICS
• Dr. Natalya Stapran, Director of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects Department, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation

Speakers:

• Dr. Mikhail Golovnin, First Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics, Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Dr. André de Melo e Souza, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA)
• Prof. Georgy Toloraya, Head of the Asian strategy center, Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences
• Ms. Valeriia Gorbacheva, Researcher at the Asian strategy center, Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences
• Dr. Prof. Qingxin Lan, Professor at the Institute of International Economy; Director of the BRICS Research Center, University of International Business and Economics
• Dr. Alexandra Morozkina, Head of the Structural Reforms Division, Economic Expert Group
• Ms. Natalya Krasnopeeva, Lead Advisor, Analytical Center for the Government of the Russian Federation
• Mr. Cyril Prinsloo, Senior Researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
• Dr. Alexey Kupriyanov, Head of Group on South Asia and Indian Ocean at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences

India
Source: brics2021.gov.in

The Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India hosted a virtual meeting of the BRICS Experts in Traditional Medicines under India's Chairship of BRICS 2021 on 25 March 2021. The meeting was attended by Traditional Medicines Experts from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. Addressing the experts, Mr. P.K. Pathak, Additional Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, who chaired the meeting, provided an overview of the Traditional Medicine system in India and of the various initiatives of the Ministry of AYUSH including for the mitigation of COVID-19. Eminent experts from Ministry of AYUSH, All India institute of Ayurveda, Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) outlined the role and importance of Traditional Medicine in achieving SDG 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) by means of integrating it in the public healthcare system as part of the BRICS Agenda for health under the Economic and Financial pillar of intra-BRICS Cooperation. India's BRICS 2021 priorities and deliverables in the field of Traditional Medicine with the aim of enhancing and strengthening BRICS collaboration including an MoU on BRICS Cooperation in Traditional Medicines and a BRICS Forum on Traditional Medicine (BFTM) were presented and discussed during the meeting. The proposals made by India aim at supporting the BRICS Members in strengthening their national capacities in the area of traditional medicine and implementing a Traditional Medicine Action Plan, with particular emphasis on the safe and effective use of traditional medicine and its appropriate integration into national health care systems. The BRICS MoU and the BRICS Forum on Traditional Medicine (BFTM) would help foster BRICS cooperation on Traditional Medicine for holistic health care through promotion of BRICS collaboration in policies, approaches, strategies, institutional and regulatory framework of Traditional Medicine and sharing of knowledge among other things. The BRICS experts expressed their appreciation and extended their cooperation and support for the substantive agenda and work related to Traditional Medicine that are planned by India in 2021, as the Chair of BRICS.