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A panel discussion on growing global protectionism looked at how South Africa could better position itself for expanded trade with its neighbours and the world.
Political and economic analyst JP Landman said South Africa would soon be exempted from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, but that it was not “the end of the world”.
“Most of our exports today go to Africa and Asia. The power has shifted from the West to the East, so we should shift our focus to the East and forget about [US President Donald] Trump.”
He added that this did not mean that South Africa should eliminate all trade with the West, but should rather aim to maintain old markets while focusing on opening new markets in the East.
Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo noted that the value of South African exports reached R249 billion last year, with every nearly half destined for Africa.
“Our exports to the Middle East and Asian are growing. The entire Americas makes up 6% of our exports, with the US receiving 4%. While this seems small, the US market absorbs products in very important value chains like citrus and nuts.”
Speaking about the opportunities within Africa, political analyst Crystal Orderson stated that Africa spends R1,8 trillion on imported food, which presented an enormous opportunity for South African farmers.
“South Africa needs to be more confident in expanding into Africa, because the African Continental Free Trade Agreement holds huge opportunities for us. We need to stop obsessing about Trump and start thinking out of the box to increase trade in Africa and Asia.”
Sihlobo however noted that South Africa’s trade with Africa was mostly in carbohydrates, and not high-value products like wine, beef and citrus, which were dependent on high-end export markets.
“African economies need to grow substantially before they can afford these products. I’m therefore not as optimistic about trade with Africa as I used to be.”
With South Africa’s membership of BRICS+, and India being a lucrative market, the panellists turned their attention to trade with this country, since India’s import tariffs are of the highest among all members of this trading bloc.
Landman said government needed to focus more attention on reducing or eliminating these tariffs.
“We could be exporting a lot more to India if these tariffs were not in place. I don’t know why India wants to deprive itself of our world-class apples by slapping a 30% tariff on these imports.”
