The Organisation of Trade Data for Inclusion in a Social Accounting Matrix

This paper describes the procedure followed to organise trade data obtained from the South African Revenue Service for inclusion in the PROVIDE Project Social Accounting Matrices. The data is aggregated in order to determine the custom's value of imports and exports, respectively, for each of the commodity groups identified in the Social Accounting Matrices. With regard to trading partners the trade data for South Africa is organized in such a way that it allows for the inclusion of multiple trading partners in the Social Accounting Matrices and that international trade at provincial level can be distinguished. Each data entry was mapped to a relevant commodity, province, and trading partner in three separate stages using three different mappings. General Algebraic Modelling Systems (GAMS) software was used to sort the trade data. Limitations of the data from the South African Revenue Service were addressed using additional information from Statistics South Africa, Global Insight and the South African Reserve Bank.International Relations/Trade,

A Profile of the Western Cape Province: Demographics, Poverty, Income, Inequality, and Unemployment from 2000 till 2007

The Western Cape agricultural sector is a dynamic and livelihood sustainable sector. Approximately 3.9% of the Western Cape value added gross domestic product comes through agriculture and 3% of the population in the Western Cape is working in this sector. There is thus a need for macro-economic research in order to investigate potential and current challenges and opportunities. This paper examines several of these challenges namely demographic compositions, unemployment, income distribution, poverty and inequality. It will provide results from the Labour Force Surveys from 2000 until 2007 with a more in-depth look into 2007. Population and labour force statistics provide the foundation for further analysis. This paper indicates that unemployment is being dominated by the African and Coloured individuals and that employment in the Western Cape agricultural sector is on a decreasing trend. It shows further that income distribution is highly skewed which leads to high levels of poverty and inequality. Agricultural incomes are lowest across all races compared to non-agricultural incomes except for the White farmers/farm workers who earn more than their counterparts in other sectors. This was investigated and explained characteristics such as education and experience levels can be attributed to this. Poverty is extremely high for Coloured workers in the Western Cape agricultural sector but has decreased since 2000. One of the principal concerns is that of inequality. It shows no improvement since 2000 with a high in-between race inequality and lower within race inequality in the Western Cape agricultural sector. Throughout the report the Western Cape agricultural sector is compared to the non-agricultural sector, Western Cape overall and South Africa for a better understanding of the Western Cape agricultural sector’s position. This report indicates that the Western Cape agricultural sector could benefit from intervention and support to correct the present state of decreasing employment, low income, and high poverty and inequality levels.Demographic Trends and Forecasts, Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure, Agricultural Labor Markets, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital, J11, J21, J43,

A Profile of the Gauteng Province: Demographics, Poverty, Income, Inequality and Unemployment from 2000 till 2007

The Gauteng agricultural sector is a dynamic and livelihood sustainable sector. Approximately 0.46% of the Gauteng value added gross domestic product comes through agriculture and 0.61% of the population in Gauteng is working in this sector. There is thus a need for macro-economic research in order to investigate potential and current challenges and opportunities. This paper examines several of these challenges namely demographic compositions, unemployment, income distribution, poverty and inequality. It will provide results from the Labour Force Surveys from 2000 until 2007 with a more in-depth look into 2007. Population and labour force statistics provide the foundation for further analysis. This paper indicates that unemployment is being dominated by the African individuals and that employment in the Gauteng agricultural sector was on a decreasing trend, but is increasing again. It shows further that income distribution is highly skewed which leads to high levels of poverty and inequality. Agricultural incomes are lowest across all races compared to non-agricultural incomes except for the White farmers/farm workers who earn more than their counterparts in other sectors. Poverty is extremely high for African workers in the Gauteng agricultural sector but has decreased since 2000 to 2006, with an increase in 2007. One of the principal concerns is that of inequality. It shows no improvement, actually a widening in the inequality gap since 2000, with a high in-between race inequality and lower within race inequality in the Gauteng agricultural sector. Throughout the report the Gauteng agricultural sector is compared to the non-agricultural sector, Gauteng overall and South Africa for a better understanding of the Gauteng agricultural sector’s position. This report indicates that the Gauteng agricultural sector could benefit from intervention and support to correct the present state of decreasing employment, low income, and high poverty and inequality levels.Demographic Trends and Forecasts, Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure, Agricultural Labor Markets, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital, J11, J21, J43,

A Profile of the Eastern Cape Province: Demographics, Poverty, Income, Inequality and Unemployment from 2000 till 2007

The Eastern Cape agricultural sector is a dynamic and livelihood sustainable sector. Approximately 1.7% of the Eastern Cape value added gross domestic product comes through agriculture and 2.9% of the population in the Eastern Cape is working in this sector. There is thus a need for macro-economic research in order to investigate potential and current challenges and opportunities. This paper examines several of these challenges namely demographic compositions, unemployment, income distribution, poverty and inequality. It will provide results from the Labour Force Surveys from 2000 until 2007 with a more in-depth look into 2007. Population and labour force statistics provide the foundation for further analysis. This paper indicates that unemployment is dominated by Africans and that employment in the Eastern Cape agricultural sector is on a decreasing trend, despite the increase between 2004 and 2006. It shows further that income distribution is highly skewed which leads to high levels of poverty and inequality. Agricultural incomes are lowest across all races compared to non-agricultural incomes except for the White farmers/farm workers who earn more than their counterparts in other sectors. Poverty is extremely high for African workers in the Eastern Cape agricultural sector but has decreased since 2000. One of the principal concerns is that of inequality. It shows no improvement since 2000, actually a widening in the inequality gap, with a high in-between race inequality and lower within race inequality in the Eastern Cape agricultural sector. Throughout the report the Eastern Cape agricultural sector is compared to the non-agricultural sector, Eastern Cape overall and South Africa for a better understanding of the Eastern Cape agricultural sector’s position. This report indicates that the Eastern Cape agricultural sector could benefit from intervention and support to correct the present state of decreasing employment, low income, and high poverty and inequality levels.Demographic Trends and Forecasts, Labor Force and Employment, Size and Structure, Agricultural Labor Markets, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital, J11, J21, J43,

South African trade in 2008, focusing on agriculture, forestry and fisheries

This paper aims to identify trade trends for primary products from the South African agricultural, forestry and fisheries sector for 2008. Annual trade data was received from the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The postal code information were used to identify from which province exports were sent or for which province the imports were destined. The postal code provided is that of the exporter or importer, and thus does not necessarily reflect the final destination in South Africa of imports or the origin (province) of our exports. Traded goods are classified using the Harmonised System (HS) that is used internationally. Results indicate that in South Africa, the value of total imports are more than total exports, but in the agricultural sector of South Africa exports still dominate, i.e. South Africa is still a net exporter of agricultural products. The main importing countries for South Africa include Germany and China while the main exporting countries are United Kingdom followed by the United States of America. The top five agriculture, forestry and fisheries imports and exports for South Africa revealed that seed corn is imported most whilst citrus fruit is exported most. Provincial reviews also took a closer look at each province’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector. Nominal values are reported.General Trade, Country and Industry Studies of Trade, International Relations/Trade, F10, F14,

Trade trends from 2000 to 2008 for agriculture, forestry and fisheries of the Western Cape

This paper aims to identify trade trends for primary products from the Western Cape agricultural, forestry and fisheries sector for the period 2000 until 2008. Annual trade data was received from the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The postal code information were used to identify from which province exports were sent or for which province the imports were destined. The postal code provided is that of the exporter or importer, and thus does not reflect the final destination in South Africa of imports or the origin (province) of our exports. Traded goods are classified using the Harmonised System (HS) that is used internationally. Results indicate that in South Africa and the Western Cape, the value of total imports are more than total exports, but in the agricultural sector of both South Africa and the Western Cape exports still dominate, i.e. South Africa and the Western Cape are still net exporters of agricultural products. For the Western Cape horticultural products, especially fruits, are at the top of the list of agricultural exports. The two main export countries for horticultural products are the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Agricultural imports to the Western Cape are mostly field crops such as wheat, rice and tobacco, mainly from Argentina, Thailand and the United States of America. The values of exports and imports of fisheries and forestry from 2000 to 2008 indicate that the value of fish trade varies over time and the main trading partners also changes notable every year. The value of forestry trade is more stable than fish trade and since 2004, the main export country was Vietnam, but the United States dominates for imports. Nominal values are reported.General Trade, Country and Industry Studies of Trade, International Relations/Trade, F10, F14,

The Potential Impact of Increased Irrigation Water Tariffs in South Africa

In South Africa, a water scarce country, conflict between water users is mounting, while there are few remaining bulk water augmentation options. Water demand management is thus increasingly taking centre stage in water management debates. Water pricing is regarded as an important component of managing the demand for water resources. This article traces the efficacy of increasing irrigation water tariffs to save water and the impact thereof on the national economy and the Western Cape economy using the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) constructed by Hassan et al (2008). Two scenarios are investigated in which the water tariff is increased by 50 percent from a base of 2c/m³. In the first scenario water demand is fixed in agriculture; thus, water needs to be fully utilized in agriculture. In the second scenario it is assumed that all water does not have to be utilized. The study finds that, for both scenarios, increasing water tariffs by 50% raises the risk profile of agriculture, threatens food security, decreases national welfare, increases imports of staple foods, increases the prices of staple foods, decreases household welfare and decreases employment in agriculture. These adverse effects are more severe in the second scenario than in the first scenario. The introduction of irrigation water pricing shocks should thus be approached with due caution and alternative demand management approaches should be investigated.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Trade Liberalisation, Efficiency and South Africa's Sugar Industry

This paper reports the results of a computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis of the South African sugar industry. The study was inspired by analyses of the EU South Africa Free Trade Agreement that indicated the importance of sugar exports to the welfare gains from agricultural trade liberalisation and by the increasing pressure upon OECD countries to reform their sugar (trade) policies. In addition to the effects of trade liberalisation this study also considers the implications of increases in the efficiency with which sugarcane is converted to raw sugar, which is an important determinant of the competitiveness of sugar production and exports. The results indicate that there would be substantial welfare gains across all household groups and that overall agricultural producers in South Africa should benefit; however there are substantial variations in the impact upon agricultural producers in different provinces, with farmers in some provinces facing reductions in the profitability of farming

The Welfare Impacts of National and International Agricultural Efficiency Gains - A South African Case Study

Ongoing agricultural and food commodity price declines associated with efficiency gains in agricultural production, both domestically and internationally, can have important welfare effects for a country. The fact that consumers can buy cheaper imported and/or domestically produced foodstuffs has various spin-off effects in the economy. However, as with any economic shock there are winners and losers, and hence it is important to gain an understanding of the economywide effects, specifically in terms of the employment effects and the income- and substitution effects associated with relative price changes in the economy. In this paper the impact of domestic and international efficiency changes in the agricultural sector is modelled using a South African Computable General Equilibrium model with highly disaggregated food and agricultural sectors. The results indicate that while consumers gain from both domestic and international efficiency gains, domestic agricultural producers face a contraction in output when world trade prices decline as a result of international efficiency gains. Efficiency gains have different welfare impacts upon different types of household, with rural households not gaining as much as urban households due to job losses in the agricultural sector that offset welfare gains associated lower prices.Productivity Analysis,

Impacts of vessel capacity reduction programs on the efficiency in fisheries. The case of Australia's multispecies in northern prawn fishery

Capacity reduction programs in the form of buybacks or decommissioning programs have had relatively widespread application in fisheries in the US, Europe and Australia. A common criticism of such programs is that they remove the least efficient vessels first, resulting in an increase in average efficiency of the remaining fleet. The effective fishing power of the fleet, therefore, does not decrease in proportion to the number of vessels removed. Further, reduced crowding may increase efficiency of the remaining vessels. In this paper, the effects of a buyback program on average technical efficiency in Australia’s Northern Prawn Fishery are examined using a multi-output distance function approach with an explicit inefficiency model. The results indicate that average efficiency of the remaining vessels was greater than that of the removed vessels, and that average efficiency of remaining vessels also increased as a result of reduced crowding