Income

Total income earned in the agriculture and related services industry was R494,7 billion in 2023 compared with R450,2 billion in 2022. This reflects an increase of 9,9% between 2022 and 2023. In 2023, ‘animals and animal products’ generated the largest sales (R195,0 billion), followed by ‘field crops’ (R113,5 billion) and ‘horticultural crops and products’ (R105,3 billion). The highest percentage increases were recorded for income earned from the sale of ‘field crops’ (18,8%) and ‘animals and animal products’ (12,9%).

Large enterprises contributed 66,9% (R330,7 billion) of the total income in 2023, followed by small enterprises with a contribution of 18,5% (R91,6 billion). Medium and micro enterprises contributed 8,4% (R41,5 billion) and 6,2% (R30,8 billion) respectively

 Expenditure

Total expenditure incurred by the farming sector in 2023 was R467,1 billion compared with R424,8 billion in 2022 (an increase of 9,9%). The largest contributor to total expenditure was ‘purchases’ (53,9% of the total), followed by ‘salaries and wages’ (12,5%), ‘repairs and maintenance’ (4,7%) and ‘depreciation’ (4,6%).

 Employment

 The total number of persons employed in the agriculture and related services industry as at the end of June 2023 was 814 866 compared with 813 539 in June 2022, an increase of 0,2%.