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Bloemfontein – The World Cup was a boost for the Free State economy but had less impact than was hoped for – especially in the rural areas.
Sake24 and BoE Private Clients’ July Free State Barometer showed a 4.7% increase in the trade index, which included the tourism sector.
The overall index for the same month, however, fell 1.4%, and indications were that unemployment and bad debts were still holding it back.
These two issues had not been adequately addressed, said Mike Schüssler of Economists.co.za. This was evident from the province’s stress index, which had been rising since May.
The July stress index was 7.1% higher than a year ago, mainly driven by a 112% rise in the number of civil judgments for debt.
July 2010 also saw 7.3% more individuals without jobs than in the same month last year.
The trade index’s continued strong performance was owing to good motor vehicle sales, in particular. In July this year 32% more vehicles were sold than in the same period in 2009.
Retail sales were 5.8% up year on year and the effect of the World Cup tournament was clearly evident, Hotels and restaurants showed a 4.3% decline in July. The last World Cup match in Bloemfontein had been on June 27.
The agricultural index rose a healthy 25% year on year. This was the biggest rise in an index among all the July barometers.
This positive trend had persisted over the previous three months, with a 19.7% improvement.
Schüssler said that the smaller sub-sectors of the agricultural index had each done its part in lifting the index. For example, the price of onions, carrots, asparagus and deciduous fruit had risen well.
The most significant contribution to the Free State’s agricultural index however came from agricultural crops like maize, sunflowers and wheat. This sector improved 60% year on year.
