Issues around rule of law and institutional capacity have stunted potential for trade growth with South America, which historically has not generated a great deal of interest from local exporters.That’s according to Francois Fouche, director of Growth Diagnostics (@ the North-West University Business School).The time zone difference is an additional issue, he says. According to the Trade Law Centre (tralac), South Africa’s exports to the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region peaked in 2011 at nearly US$2.2bn but fell more than 50% in 2015 as the economic slowdown associated with the commodity price slump took effect. Major importers of South African goods are Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.
