It was one of only four sectors that realised any growth over this period. In 2021, strong fourth quarter growth of 12.2% contributed to seasonally adjusted, annual agriculture GDP growing by 8.3%, almost double the growth for the national economy.
South Africa’s seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 4.9% in 2021. Agriculture, which expanded by 8.3%, was the second fastest growing sector behind mining (11.8%). This expansion is well in line with BFAP’s projection of 7.6% when the annual Baseline outlook was released in August last year. What makes this growth in agriculture more impressive is that it follows a 13.4% expansion in 2020, making agriculture the strongest performing sector since the start of COVID-19. The sector has been remarkably resilient during a challenging period, contributing hugely to growth and food security. In the final quarter in 2021, the South African economy expanded by 1.2%.
The strongest growth rates were observed for agriculture, forestry & fisheries (12.2%), followed by trade, catering & accommodation (2.9%), manufacturing (2.8%), personal services (2.7%), and transport, storage & communication (2.2%). The positive growth for agriculture follows a contraction in quarter 3, which was mainly driven by the timing of the field crop harvest rather than any substantial changes in annual production value.
