Agriculture

Agriculture is a bedrock sector – cyclical and sometimes volatile – nevertheless it is one of the few sectors in the economy where we continue to see positive investments.

Successful Agri businesses are always looking to expand and we support our large-scale clients in achieving their ambitions.

While Covid-19 disrupted the sector, particularly within the wine industry, and through port congestions and decreased meat demand from restaurants and fast food chains, by and large the Agri sector will maintain strong production and operations.

Our Structured Trade and Commodity Finance offering is the largest for agricultural commodities, and a market leader in terms of the size and breadth of our solutions. We recognise a significant opportunity to finance the trade flows (import and export) of Agri commodities regionally and internationally, and also to finance new and expanded food processing facilities in replacement of imported products and to enhance export earnings.

We also connect key sector players through the value chain and facilitate Black Economic Empowerment on a sustainable basis as part of our offering.

As the largest agricultural funder in South Africa, Absa has solid experience in this market. Our balance sheet size and service model, in which we have dedicated relationship and credit teams focusing exclusively on Agriculture, places us in a unique position to deliver exceptional value to our clients.

We do not pretend to be farmers, because we are not – however through our understanding of the cyclical and seasonal nature of agriculture, coupled with our banking experience, we are able to sculpt custom solutions, tailored to individual projects and needs.

We are committed to the Agriculture sector and to establishing enduring, trust-based relationships with our clients.