South America offers
significant untapped trade
potential – and local exporters
should be driving hard to break
into the market.
That’s the view of Donald
MacKay, director at XA
International Trade Advisors,
who told FTW that South
America did not feature in
the same way the US, Europe
or even China did with South
African exporters, even
though the ability of South
American markets to consume
South African products was
significant.
“I don’t think we think
about South America much.
We forget just how many
people live in countries like
Brazil – an astonishingly
large country with a
population of around 200
million,” he said.
“Even though there are
good wines produced in South
America, there is probably a
space on the shelves of many a
Latin American country for us
to increase our wine exports,
for example.”
While SACU’s preferential
trade agreement with Mercosur
(Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay
and Uruguay) – signed in
November 2016 – provides
improved access for certain
product lines, South African
exporters have made little to no
in-roads.
He believes that few
people are putting real
effort into trying to sell
their goods into South
America, and are instead
waiting for someone to
opportunistically pick up
the phone.
“If you look at chicken, the
Brazilians have put proper
effort into getting their
chicken into the
world market,
including ours.
The same can’t
be said of South
African goods
into that region.”
According to
the Department
of Trade and
Industry report
‘Increasing
Trade with
Latin America:
Preferences, Challenges and
Remedies’, exports to Latin
American countries have
stagnated
at between
one and two
percent of
South Africa’s
total export volumes.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile and
Mexico account for 77% of
this country’s South American
exports, which are dominated
by minerals and base metals. It
says Latin American countries
are major commodity exporters
and generally compete with us
in world markets.
INSERT & CAPTION
Even though there are good
wines produced in South
America, there is probably
a space on the shelves of
many a Latin American
country for us to increase
our wine exports.
– Donald MacKay
Exporters urged to explore S America’s untapped potential
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