South African exporters and importers are being urged to look south for opportunities in the Americas. Sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil are natural partners for trade, investment and knowledge exchange, according to a report by the World Bank and the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research. Logistics links for South African importers and exporters have been strengthened by Transnet’s positioning of Ngqura as a transit port for southsouth trade. But, while bilateral relations between the South African government and its South American counterparts date back more than 20 years, little of substance has come from the signing of numerous agreements. Then deputy trade and industry minister Elizabeth Thabethe told South African and Brazilian business people attending a seminar in Sao Paulo in October 2013 that there was huge untapped potential in trade and investment between the two countries. Other South American countries are keen to increase trade ties with South Africa. In August this year Chilean president Michelle Bachelet led an official delegation to South Africa. According to a joint statement issued after a meeting with president Jacob Zuma, the two leaders agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a Joint Trade and Investment Commission, which was signed between the two Governments in July 2012, should be implemented “as soon as possible” – an indication of how slowly the officials are moving. A month later, in October, South Africa and Mexico signed agreements to mutually develop trade, agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing. There are also ongoing attempts to grow trade between South Africa and Argentina, which has been recording global trade surpluses since 2001, mostly due to exports of agricultural products. After Brazil and Mexico, Argentina is South Africa’s third largest trading partner in the Latin America and Caribbean region. In the meantime the potential has been recognised by Namibia’s Walvis Bay Corridor Group, which has opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
