Forward planning will be key in tighter global market

WITH SOUTH Africa's GDP growth estimated at around 3% this year, companies are going to have to beef up on market research. Knowing your industry, market and products will be key in the current climate, with GDP growth in 2009 pegged at around 3.2%. While various industries are being impacted differently, experts agree that trade companies will have to invest time and effort in market research and planning ahead. According to Peter Draper from the South African Institute of International Affairs, South Africa is but a small economy in the global market and as such is often held hostage by the larger economies. "Trading companies, especially, are going to have to put a lot more thought into their business plans. Planning ahead will be crucial – knowing what the market wants and how to adapt your product will be key." He said traders exporting to China would not feel much impact at present as the market remained strong, but with most other global markets feeling the pinch, overall growth continued to slow down resulting in some product lines being harshly affected. According to Draper, while the impact would depend on what commodity a company was trading in, the lessthan- robust economy is set to manifest in fewer jobs being created and less buying power, affecting overall trade negatively. "The economy is taking strain at present with interest rate hikes, higher inflation and a weaker global economy impacting negatively on the situation." According to the Bureau for Economic Research, the persistent weakness in consumer demand remains troublesome for the wholesale/retail industry, but the real significant downward revision concerns are for 2009 where both private consumption and investment are set to be even weaker than in 2008, making planning imperative.