A commitment by
African countries
to establishing
a Continental
Free Trade Area (CFTA)
is creating opportunities
for South Africa to grow
its export market share
and benefit from a larger
and integrated African
community.
That’s the view of
Taku Fundira, associate
at the capacity building
organisation tralac and
author of a working paper
titled ‘Export trends in
Africa – an analysis of South
Africa’s manufactured
exports to Africa’.
“However, a number of
factors are necessary for that
integration to happen. These
include the elimination of
non-tariff barriers, reduction
in transport costs, minimal
delays at border control
posts and fewer bureaucratic
procedures
that increase
the cost
of doing
business,” he
said.
The paper
shows that a
total of 30%
of South
Africa’s
exports is
destined
for Africa
and it has 16% of the total
export market share on
the continent – but also
highlights that certain SA
commodities, especially from
the agricultural sector, have
taken a dip in market share.
Fundira pointed out that
other continental players
such as Kenya and Uganda
were increasingly offering
attractive
investment
opportunities
and favourable
trading
conditions.
“South
African
companies
have made
great strides
in expanding
their mining,
retail,
construction financial
services to Africa and these
successes demonstrate the
continent’s ability to attract
investment,” he commented,
adding that the success could
be partly attributed to the
government’s promotional role
through entities such as the
Development Bank of SA and
the Industrial Development
Corporation (IDC).
“These entities not only
provide funding but also share
the risk by having a stake in
the project,” said Fundira,
noting that SA businesses had
a strong footprint in southern
Africa as well as West and
East African countries such
as Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria,
Mali, Rwanda and Uganda.
“Big investors in these
countries include MTN,
Vodacom, ABSA Bank, Sasol,
Eskom, SAB Miller, Shoprite
and Pick n Pay,” he added.
The tralac working paper
provides some statistics
relating to SA’s export profile
in Africa.
INSERT
SA has 16% of
the total export
market share on the
continent.
– Taku Fundira
