As an uncertain business environment holds back investor confidence, exporters appear to be caught in the cross-fire.
“And it’s not just policy certainty that needs to be achieved but a directional change in policy as well,” said economist Richard Downing. He believes the situation could improve as soon as there is greater certainty around governance of state-owned entities.
Chairman of the Western Cape Exporters’ Club, Terry Gale, agreed that importers and investors would be influenced by stability, or lack thereof, in South Africa but he was upbeat on the outlook for export growth.
“Yes there are uncertainties – particularly around United States president Donald Trump’s trade policies which vary almost daily, as well as the United Kingdom’s looming exit from the European Union (Brexit) – but there are many positives and lots of opportunities for exporters thanks to a number of trade agreements between SA and its biggest export markets,” he told FTW.
Roadfreight manager for CFR Freight, Hilton Tait, said his company had seen an “exponential leap” in exports to the SADC region with the outlook “extremely positive”. According to Tait, Zambia has provided the best growth opportunities for exports, especially in the mining and fast-moving consumer-goods (FMCG) sectors.
“Zimbabwe is of course suddenly on everyone’s radar and with global investors coming onboard again, there are renewed export opportunities to that country,” said Tait.
