MOTOR VEHICLES and their components, together with cut flowers and capital goods have become the shining stars
in the efforts of the
department of trade and industry's export promotion division.
The export councils of
all three sectors are outperforming all others, says Victor Mathale, director of export promotions in the department. Now, he says, all other sectors must move forward in South Africa's plan to keep its exports surging at a faster pace than the global rise in trade.
Within the next five years
we hope to double
the value of the country's exports to R330 billion annually, he says. At last we have industries that are focused on exports. The emphasis now is to boost exports of value-added manufactured goods and move away from South Africa's traditional outlook of focusing on unprocessed minerals.
Capital equipment exports should reach R12 billion this year, with this sector having grown by 13,4% during the past five years. The government, says Mathale, has agreed to do what it can to facilitate the growth in exports by improving the provision of finance, removing transport bottlenecks and by developing even more comprehensive export strategies.
Export councils cover industries which range from wire to flowers, furniture and footwear, and are designed to bring together firms in the same sector so that they can pool their resources and efforts to capture and retain overseas markets.
The government funds the start-up costs of the councils, and each has to set annual targets for performance, and also select those overseas markets on which to concentrate efforts.
Copyright Now Media (Pty) Ltd
No article may be reproduced without the written permission of the editor
To respond to this article send your email to joyo@nowmedia.co.za
