- This weekend's Ankole auction at Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm fetched close to R21 million.
- The sale of Ramaphosa's lots earned him a total of R2.37 million.
- The highest-priced bull at the auction fetched R1.65 million.
This weekend's auction of Ankole cattle at President Cyril Ramaphosa's farm fetched close to R21 million.
Saturday's event was hosted by the Ankole Cattle Breeders' Society of South Africa at Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm, near Bela-Bela, in Limpopo.
The farm made headlines after former spy boss Arthur Fraser claimed a burglary occurred there in 2020, in which about $4 million in cash (around R64 million at the current exchange rate) was stolen.
The money was believed to be earned from the selling of game and cattle.
The auction on Saturday offered six lots from Ramaphosa's Ntaba Nyoni Ankole stud, including one bull, three females, and two lots of embryos.
According to Veewinkel, an auction house, the top price Ramaphosa fetched for the heifer, Pata Pata, was R675 000.
The sale of Ramaphosa's lots earned him a total of R2.37 million.
Ramaphosa is the biggest Ankole farmer in South Africa. His interest in the breed of long-horned cattle started during a trip to Uganda.
The highest-priced bull at the auction, which was sold by Benella Ankole stud from Yonder Hill Wine Farming CC in Stellenbosch, fetched R1.65 million.
Another bull, Dollar, sold for R1 million.
According to Veewinkel, the highest-priced female was sold for R950 000, while top-priced implanted embryos sold for R300 000.