Agoa accounts for R1.47bn in exports

Export market access
remains one of the
biggest challenges
for the Western
Cape, according to Alan
Winde, minister of economic
opportunities in the province.
With this in mind, he said,
it was therefore imperative
that South Africa did not lose
its status in trade programmes
such as the African Growth
and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
“Last year, under the Agoa
programme, the Western
Cape’s exports to the US
amounted to R1.47 billion.
Of this, wine and citrus
exports accounted for R719
million. The wine industry
employs just over 289 000
people in the country and
167 000 in the Western Cape,”
Winde told FTW. “I wrote
to the National Ministers of
Trade and Industry as well
as Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries on the matter.
We were
pleased when
Minister
Rob Davies
announced
the matter
was being
resolved.
We look forward to its final
resolution.”
He said the loss of South
Africa’s Agoa status would
impact significantly on the
Western Cape which already
had to work extremely hard to
access difficult markets like
the US.
“Another challenge in the
Western Cape has been animal
diseases that pose a threat to
our exports,” said Winde.
Last year the European
Union lifted the four-year
ban on South African ostrich
exports.
The ostrich
industry,
which
contributes
over
R1 billion to
the economy,
was initially severely impacted
by the 2011 highly pathogenic
avian influenza outbreak.
“Resuming exports to the
EU will play an important
role in increasing the number
of jobs in this industry, which
currently employs over 50 000
residents. Vets in the Western
Cape conduct regular testing
which ensures animal diseases
are detected early,” he said.
Horse exports have also
decreased significantly in
the past few years after an
outbreak of African horse
sickness in the Western Cape
control zone near Kenilworth
in 2011. Since then all
horses have to be routed via
Mauritius where they are
quarantined for 90 days.
Horse exports were a growing
industry until the outbreak of
the disease.
Winde said the province
had strict control measures in
place to ensure that cases of
animal disease – regardless of
the industry – were managed
effectively. “We rely on the
support of farmers to detect
and inform us of potentially
diseased animals,” he said.
INSERT
R719m The value of wine and citrus exports
to the US last year.