Investor Presentaiton
Section V - Conclusion
With nearly 25,000 farms statewide, South
Carolina's agribusiness cluster represents one of the
largest industry groups in the Palmetto State and
is a primary driver of statewide economic growth.
Agribusiness-related companies and suppliers are
distributed across every county, including family-
owned and operated farms, large scale private
farms, livestock producers, major food processors
and manufacturers, and wood products producers -
among others. This study specifically estimates that
the agribusiness cluster in South Carolina currently
generates a total of $51.8 billion in annual economic
activity, which supports approximately 259,215 jobs
and nearly $12.4 billion in labor income that would
not exist otherwise. This impact represents an increase
of 40 percent since 2010.
Despite this sizable economic impact, however,
South Carolina's agribusiness cluster has a significant
opportunity for growth in the coming decade. This
study estimates that South Carolina currently imports
$11.7 billion in agribusiness products from outside
of the state for final consumption. This represents
an unmet local demand that, if captured by local
agribusiness firms, would further increase the total
current impact of South Carolina agribusiness by
nearly 23 percent.
The SCDA is actively working on various initiatives
for capturing this unmet demand, including proactive
efforts towards expanding meat/beef production and
processing. If South Carolina were to capture just 25
percent of the current unmet demand of this industry,
this would increase the total economic impact of
the South Carolina agribusiness cluster by as much
as $511 million annually. It would also generate
approximately 2,312 additional new jobs for South
Carolinians. These results thus imply that for every $1
in new demand generated from additional meat/beef
production and processing, a total of $1.53 would be
generated in new economic activity for the
state's economy.
As one of South Carolina's largest industry clusters
with a potential for significant future expansion,
agribusiness will continue to be a major driver for the
Palmetto State's economy throughout the 2020s.
AGRICULTURE
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CULTURE
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