Call for regional co-operation to stop influx of counterfeit goods

Southern Africa’s porous borders are one of the major challenges when it comes to addressing the large influx and scourge of counterfeit goods. According to Michael Lamont, an associate at law firm Adams & Adams, adding to the challenge are the under-resourced and understaffed border enforcement units. “Counterfeiting is not just a southern African problem but a global problem,” said Lamont. “The approximate value of counterfeit goods circulating in the global market today is in the region of $1.2 trillion, and is estimated to reach $1.82 trillion by 2020. “Counterfeiting is as profitable as trading in drugs and illegal narcotics, with much less risk. Estimated losses for online counterfeiting alone amounted to $322 billion in 2017.” Lamont said China and Hong Kong remained the biggest source, with some 86% of the world’s counterfeit goods emanating from this part of the world. It is estimated that 6.6 million counterfeit goods
produced in China are circulating the global marketplace. The cost of these counterfeits to non-Chinese companies runs into billions of dollars. “What is further concerning is that the African continent has been regarded as the dumping ground for counterfeit goods for a long time,” said Lamont. In South Africa alone, about three in-market search-and-detention or seizure operations are carried out on a daily basis to fight the scourge and proliferation of counterfeit goods. Considering that about 4 000 containers are coming in through Durban’s harbour daily and only about 3.5% are being physically searched, stopping the large influx is extremely difficult. “Our ports and our borders are understaffed and under-resourced,” said Lamont. “We know that the counterfeit trade in southern Africa is linked to organised crime syndicates in China, Pakistan, India, Israel and Afghanistan.”