> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.businessbagel.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Roundup — Tuesday, 20 October 2026 - URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/the-roundup-tuesday-20-october-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-20T04:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-20T04:00:00.000Z - Author: Christian Maidman Today’s edition Rising Dough Presented by[![All Weather](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/09/allweather-logo.png)](https://allweather.co.za/?ref=businessbagel.com) Good morning, and welcome to your Tuesday Roundup. Global food prices have reached their highest level in almost 4 years, but South Africa is telling a very different story. We’re also looking at Vodacom’s latest ambitions in artificial intelligence, why Investec thinks South Africa could finally climb out of junk status, and plenty more. Let’s get into it. --- MARKETS ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/10/markets--66-.png) --- KNEADING TIME ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/10/4-9.png) ## Global food prices are at their highest in almost four years, but South Africa is telling a different story Global food prices have hit their highest level in almost four years. The UN's food price index rose another 1.5% in September, with wheat and maize both at their highest in more than three years. South Africa is in a better spot than that suggests. Food and soft-drink prices here rose just 1.1% in the year to August, thanks to an exceptional farming season and a summer grain harvest forecast at a record 21.6 million tonnes. Abroad, not everything is dearer either: meat got cheaper in September, and dairy is almost 20% below a year ago. **Where it could still bite:** - **Wheat.** Our own crop is the smallest in eight years, so we'll import about 2 million tonnes, and Black Sea disruptions have pushed up both the price and the cost of shipping it here. - **Timing.** Manufacturers often buy ingredients three to six months ahead, so today's world prices may only reach production costs late this year or early next. - **The weather.** Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo expects food inflation to stay moderate through 2026, but drier weather forecast for 2027 could hit the crops being planted now. World prices are still 15% below their 2022 peak, and Stats SA's September food figure lands on Wednesday. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/world-food-prices-highest-since-2022-south-africa-shelves/) --- SPHINX AND CHIPS ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/10/5-6.png) ## Vodacom is making a big move into AI, but South Africa is last on its list Vodacom is making a major move into AI, and South Africa is last on its list. In September Vodafone Egypt, part of the group, signed two partnerships. One is a data-centre venture with Elsewedy Electric and Cassava Technologies that could attract up to $1 billion of investment. The other lets Egyptian businesses and government departments rent computing power on Nvidia's AI chips, so they never have to buy and run the machines themselves. Kenya is next, Business Day reports, and South Africa follows. That's despite Vodacom already running 12 data centres here, though they aren't necessarily kitted out with the specialised chips advanced AI needs. Those chips cost a fortune, and rising costs have already put several big data-centre projects in the US and Europe on hold. So Vodacom's first AI chips will mainly run the group's own operations while it learns to use them efficiently. Paying customers come after that. It's a careful way into a field where the bill is enormous and the customers are still arriving, and Vodacom gets to be its own first one. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/vodacom-ai-chips-egypt-first-south-africa-last/) --- BAGEL BITE **What makes flamingos pink?** **A.** Their feathers **B.** Their diet **C.** The sunlight --- DOING THE ROUNDS ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/10/3-5.png) **Chinese exports to South Africa have more than doubled since 2020, growing another 29% in the first eight months of this year alone.** With higher trade barriers in the US, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly looking for customers elsewhere. And South Africa is feeling the effects. China now supplies more than a third of our manufactured imports, but buys less than 6% of what we manufacture and export. Meanwhile, local manufacturing has contracted for three consecutive quarters, prompting five new applications for protection against imports. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/china-imports-south-africa-factories-shrinking/) **South Africa might finally climb out of junk status by 2028, with Investec putting the chances at more than 50%.** The investment firm points to government's improved control over spending and our recent removal from the global money-laundering grey list. But there's still work to do. All three major credit rating agencies currently rank South Africa two levels below investment grade, which affects how much it costs government to borrow money. Wednesday's mini-budget could be the next step, with Investec predicting potential upgrades from Moody's and S&P. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/investec-investment-grade-2028-odds-mini-budget/) **One of South Africa's biggest shopping centre owners wants to buy more malls here, but there's a problem: hardly anyone wants to sell.** Vukile Property Fund spent last week touring its own malls across three provinces. But shopping centres like Sandton City and Canal Walk generate reliable rental income, so their owners tend to hold onto them. In Europe, investment funds are more willing to sell, which explains why Vukile has done most of its buying overseas. South Africa now makes up just 30% of its R64 billion property portfolio, down from 40%. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/vukile-south-african-malls-owners-wont-sell/) **Anthropic has announced plans to set aside a growing portion of its shares for a new fund.** It's starting with 5%, subject to shareholder approval, with the possibility of adding another 2% every time the company's value increases by 50%. The idea is to use the fund to support charities or make payments directly to certain groups of people, especially those whose jobs could be affected by artificial intelligence. But exactly who will decide where that money goes, and how the fund will operate, is something Anthropic says it will explain in the coming months. [**Full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/anthropic-public-benefit-fund-5-percent-shares/) --- WEATHER ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/10/weather--62-.png) --- BAGEL GAMES ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/10/Wordle--66-.png) Have you got what it takes to win today’s Wordle? [**Play here →**](https://puzzel.org/en/wordle/play?p=-P4Jt-nNC6gDbX47b9j5&ref=businessbagel.com) --- THE ANSWER As for the Bagel Bite, the answer is: **B. Their diet** Flamingos get their pink colour from carotenoid pigments in their food, including algae and small crustaceans such as shrimp. They absorb and process these pigments, which become deposited in their growing feathers and produce shades of pink and red. Chicks hatch with grey or white down and develop their pink colouring as they grow. Without enough carotenoids in their diet, their plumage can become much paler over time. Carotenoids are also the family of pigments responsible for the orange colour of carrots. --- That's your Tuesday wrapped. Enjoyed it? Forward it on, a friend can subscribe in a click. Written by the Business Bagel crew.