South Africa has identified the exports sector as an engine for growth, aiming for export volume growth of 6% per year in order to achieve an annual increase in real GDP growth of about 5.5%, according to the World Bank. The fifth Economic Update on South Africa: Focus on Export Competitiveness, launched earlier this month, shows that despite successes in some areas, South Africa will need to greatly improve its export performance to meet these targets. The report forecasts real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in South Africa to recover to 2.7% in 2014, from the estimated 1.9% in 2013 and to reach 3.4% in 2015. However, it will remain well below the average 5.4% projected for Sub-Saharan Africa for 2014-2016. “The medium-term outlook is that growth will improve gradually, but that this recovery will be more subdued than previously forecast,” said World Bank lead economist Catriona Purfield. “The recovery in growth is expected to be led by strengthening exports, as the recovery in high income economies gains pace and export capacity expands.” The report examined the performance of some 20 000 South African export companies in the non-mineral sector over a 12-year period from 2001 and discusses opportunities to help South Africa improve its export potential.
