South Africa's Economy Contracts in Q3 2023

PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa's economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter of this year, driven by a significant drop in agricultural production, as reported by the statistics agency on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3% in seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, while economists polled by Reuters had predicted an expansion of 0.5%.

Statistics South Africa detailed that agriculture contracted 28.8% in the third quarter, primarily due to field crops.

> "Maize and soy account for about 70% of field crops and we know they have had a difficult quarter due to drought," said statistician Joe de Beer in a press conference.

The region of Southern Africa has faced its worst drought in decades this year, negatively impacting economic output across the area.

Furthermore, South Africa's third-quarter GDP increased 0.3% on a year-on-year basis, which was also less than the 1.2% growth predicted by economists.