Barry Streek
South Africa has ousted former colonial power Britain as the largest supplier of exported goods to Kenya and Uganda and total exports to Africa are growing at a rate of between 20% to 30% a year.
In 1994 value-added manufactured exports were 9% of the total exports for the year. By 1999 this figure rose to 24%.
This was disclosed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in its 1999/2000 report, which was tabled in Parliament this week.
The value of merchandised exports between April 1999 and March 2000 rose by 11% across all productive sectors, including mining, agriculture and manufacturing.
“The value of sales of manufactured products in constant 1995 prices rose from R64-billion in the first quarter of 1999 to R77-billion by year-end,” the report reads.
“Major contributors were the motor vehicle division, basic chemicals, coke and refined petroleum products, and paper and paper products.”
The department had widened and intensified relations at a bilateral level on the African continent through trade and investment agreements and government liaison efforts, aimed at reducing market barriers to trade and investment flows.
South Africa formally opened economic relations with Nigeria through new investment and trade agreements, as well as a binational commission.
“Concrete achievements for South African companies to date include major projects in the Nigerian power sector and capital goods exports. Overall, exports from South Africa to Nigeria increased by 100%, albeit off a low base,” the report reads.
In Libya, a department-coordinated delegation and trade exhibition resulted in orders of South African exports of between $2-million and $3-million, and investment agreements were negotiated with Ghana and Egypt.
Department-led technical teams visited Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, Ghana, Mauritius, Morocco and Tunisia.
“In Kenya and Uganda, South Africa is now the largest supplier of export goods, ousting the predominance of the former colonial power, with key Department of Trade [and] Industry support and ‘hand-holding’ exercises for South African exporters,” according to the report.
“The DTI has to open up new fronts where South Africa is not known. It also needs to deepen South Africa’s strategic engagement with countries in the region,” the department said.
It added that it was focusing its activities on power generation, transmission and distribution; telecommunications; water and waste water projects; transport infrastructure; building construction; oil and gas infrastructure; agricultural projects and mining.