Agriculture and Agro-Processing

Eastern Cape competitiveness in agriculture is in the following areas; chicory, citrus, deciduous, essential oils, mohair, dairy, macadamia and livestock production (SA's cattle & sheep breeding region - 3.3 million cattle). The province has large factor endowments that allow for cattle and sheep breeding, accounts for a third of South Africa's milk production.

Agro-processing plays a pivotal role in capturing the value addition of primary agricultural products. The Agro-industry is mostly dominated by food and beverage manufacturing. The province has a well established agro-processing sub-sector (meat, vegetable, mohair, pineapple, dairy). An estimated 77% of all Agro processing enterprises are located in the Nelson Mandela Bay (43%) and Buffalo City (34%) areas. Other major agro-processing and agri produce hubs in the areas of Queenstown (4%), Stutterheim (4%) and Humansdorp / Jeffreys Bay (2% each).