Food security will be a major issue on the agenda of the 5th BBRICS summit to be held in Durban, South African Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said on Tuesday.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) "consider food security very serious," the minister said.

In her speech addressing a BRICS summit roadshow in Mpumalanga Province, Pettersson said food security is important to the group and that Pretoria has "a lot to offer" to the group in terms of agriculture.

"South Africa has become a special interest in the group because of our ability to produce food. We have a very excellent and thriving commercial agricultural sector," the minister said.

The South African government launched BRICS roadshows to raise public awareness ahead of the summit. The roadshow is also aimed at obtaining public views on how South Africa can strengthen its position within the BRICS group.

The summit will be held on March 26-27 at the Durban International Convention Center.

BRICS membership is in line with South Africa's foreign policy objectives of notably strengthening South-South relations. The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development and cooperation.

According to Standard Bank, BRICS-Africa trade will increase threefold, from 150 billion U. S. dollars in 2010 to 530 billion dollars in 2015. Endi