The Agribusiness Cluster

Background

Despite the gradual diversification of African economies in recent years, agribusiness remains the dominant sector, employing more than 60 percent of African workers.

For example, many of the world’s largest coffee, tea and cocoa producers are in Africa, thus making these cash crops perhaps the most important that the continent has to offer.

Kenya is the world’s third largest producer of tea; Ethiopia is the fifth largest coffee producer; and Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s leading cocoa producer. Overall, Africa accounts for 13 percent of global tea and coffee production and 67 percent of world cocoa output. Compared to other continents, Africa is first, second and third in the production and supply of cocoa, tea and coffee respectively.

However, key African agricultural commodity producers are also often the most volatile and unstable countries in the world.

About the B&M Agribusiness Cluster

The B&M Agribusiness Cluster is a highly specialized research group of B&M analysts that provides clients with timely analysis on political, economic, political, security and social developments affecting the production and supply of key agricultural commodities, and forecasts the impact of these developments on a client’s bottom-line.

The Applications for Business and Investment

Agribusiness cluster analysts help clients incorporate political risk management into their plans for business in Africa, especially at the point of entry and expansion.

Our flexible research model and pioneering AfriRisk Index©, the first comparative country risk index modeled to distinctively monitor, measure, and forecast political, economic, social, and security risks unique to Africa, can be adapted to track categories of risks prevalent in any individual or combination of agribusiness sub-sectors in Africa (i.e. coffee, tea and cocoa) and pertinent to a client’s investment plans, including climate risks. 

For more information, please contact The Agribusiness Cluster directly at agribiz@bmconsultancy.net

Agribusiness Cluster Analysts

Cluster analysts are experts on the agribusiness industry as well as on general African politics, history and business, possessing the requisite multinational language skills.

They monitor all developments affecting the sector, including those occurring within and outside the continent.

The cluster is supported by field research analysts and on-the-ground monitors based in key producing countries, strategically positioned to help our clients navigate and manage the day-to-day political, security and social risks of doing business on the ground in Africa.

The Space

The Agribusiness Cluster conducts its research on a continental, sub-regional, national, state, provincial, municipal and industry level.

It covers producing countries individually and collectively as members of various international commodity-producing unions, including the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) and the International Tea Producers Forum (ITPF).

Agribusiness Cluster analysts work in close collaboration with B&M’s regional and geographic research groups to provide clients with insightful comparative analysis of the agribusiness sector across multiple regions.

Cash Crops Covered

Our analysts cover individual and any combination of African agribusiness sub-sectors (across multiple municipalities, provinces, countries and regions) pertinent to an investor’s business plans, including, but not limited to:

Cereals and Grains (i.e. Barley, Oats, Rice, Wheat, Millet & Sorghum)
Cocoa
Coffee
Cotton
Dairy Products
Flowers
Food Processing and Canning
Fruits and Berries (i.e. Olives, Bananas & Pineapples)
Gum Arabic
Hides
Legumes (i.e. Cowpeas, Soybeans, Pulses & Groundnuts)
Livestock (i.e. Sheep, Goats, Camels & Cattle)
Nuts (i.e. Cashews & Almonds)
Oils (i.e. Palm Oil & Olive Oil)
Palm Kernels
Poultry
Root Vegetables (i.e. Cassava, Potatoes, Yams & Sweet Potatoes)
Rubber
Seafood (i.e. Tuna)
Seeds (i.e. Sesame)
Sisal
Spices (i.e. Vanilla, Cloves, Cinnamon & Ylang-Ylang)
Sugar/Sugarcane
Tea
Timber/Lumber
Tobacco
Vegetables
Wine

Coverage Area

B&M’s Agribusiness Cluster measures and forecasts risk in any combination of African cities, states, countries, and regions pertinent to a client’s business plans. 

Common Research Topics

The impact of global tea, coffee and cocoa price fluctuations on political and economic stability especially in countries highly dependent on the export of these cash crops (i.e. Ethiopia and Kenya). 

Economic and political volatility in highly unstable coffee, tea and cocoa-producing countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Congo-Kinshasa and Zimbabwe. The likelihood of contagion from ongoing instability in such countries.

The potential of recidivism in coffee, tea and cocoa-producing countries with recent conflicts (i.e. Angola, Sierra Leone and Kenya). 

For more information, please contact The Agribusiness Cluster directly at agribiz@bmconsultancy.net