Western Cape rallies to minimise Brexit risks

Mitigating damage and
minimising uncertainty for
Western Cape exporters
following Britain’s decision
to leave the European Union
is a top priority for provincial
officials.
Speaking to FTW last week,
the Western Cape Minister
of Economic Affairs, Alan
Winde, said several exporters
were bound to be negatively
affected by the decision
that had shocked the world,
but that there were also
opportunities.
“Our first priority is to
minimise the risk and then
we have to find opportunity
within the existing EU
agreement and establish new
agreements with the UK.”
He said Wesgro, the
provincial trade promotion
agency, had already been
requested to set up a task team
and to meet with exporters
that are at risk.
“We are working on a
detailed analysis of our
existing market into the UK,
identifying who they are and
which of our exporters are
most at risk,” he said. “At the
same time we are focusing
on the opportunities and
what we can do to exploit
those opportunities, as we are
cognisant of the fact that there
are many other countries
also looking for opportunity
in this. We need to remind
companies in the UK also
that the Cape is a safe, secure
and stable environment for
them to grow their markets in
South Africa and Africa.”
In 2015, South Africa
exported close to R43bn
worth of goods to the UK,
said Winde. “The most
important product group
was metals, but in second
place were edible fruits
and nuts and in fifth place
were beverages, spirits and
vinegar. It is an extremely
important market for us and
that is why we are focusing
on the positive as much as we
can at this point.”
Over the past decade,
the value of South Africa's
agricultural exports to the
UK has increased from
R3.1 billion to R8.7 billion.
At least 7.2% of SA’s
agriculture exports reached
the UK last year, while over
20% of SA’s exports to the
UK were agriculture based.
Winde said 28% (or
R8.7bn) of the Western
Cape’s R30bn exports were
exported to the UK annually.