Data released on Thursday, 9 July by Statistics South Africa showed manufacturing production plunged 49.4% during the month compared to April 2019. This is yet another grim indication that the second-quarter economic contraction was simply staggering.
While it may well be a once-off shock related to the lockdown measures, the picture that emerges is that South Africa effectively de-industrialised during April 2020. Things would have been far worse but for the fact that South Africans still needed to eat during the month.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more: