There is much discussion and no certainty over what the impact of President Donald Trump and his administration will be on agricultural exports to the United States.Under the spotlight is the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa), which allows South African agricultural products to enter the United States duty-free.According to the United States Department of Agriculture, SA’s agricultural exports to the US have grown by an average of 16% a year since the start of Agoa in 2000.Sectors that have benefited most include citrus, nuts, wine, dairy, table grapes, fruit juice, industrial alcohol and sugar.The biggest export categories are citrus, followed by nuts and then wine. According to Sars statistics, South Africa enjoyed a R4.7 billion agricultural product surplus over the US between January and November 2024.South Africa’s biggest exports were vegetables (R4.7bn) and prepared foodstuffs (R4bn).The biggest imports were wood, pulp and paper (R1.8bn), followed by prepared foodstuffs (R1.4bn).USDA statistics show that the US accounts for 5% of South Africa’s fresh orange exports, 8% of fresh mandarins, 4% of fresh grapefruit and 4% of orange juice exports.South Africa has reopened as an export market for US genetically engineered white and yellow corn following the midsummer drought of 2024. This could, according to Dirk Esterhuizen of the USDA, result in coastal millers opting to import grain as it could be cheaper due to the high costs of transporting it from the summer rainfall areas to the coast. To put the US export market in context, in the third quarter of 2024, SADC, the EU and Brics countries accounted for 75% of SA’s agricultural exports.The new Brics+ members accounted for the same market share as the United States (4%), increasing the overall Brics+ share to 16%, according to the BFAP Quarterly Trade Update for 2024.“Brics is gaining momentum as an important market for South African products, even though the new members are yet to contribute substantially. “Brics has overtaken SADC as the second-biggest market for agricultural products after the EU,” the report states.Brics, SADC and the EU supplied over 60% of SA’s R39bn in agricultural imports during the third quarter.The EU supplied around a quarter of the value in the form of cereals and other milling products (mainly wheat), beverages and sunf lower oil. ER
