SA’s trade authorities should as a matter of urgency expand agricultural export efforts to Gulf and Asian nations amid rising global trade barriers, the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) said.
In a report published by agricultural economists Wandile Sihlobo and Tinashe Kapuya on Sunday, Agbiz urged the government to intensify efforts in diversifying agricultural export markets to shield the sector from geopolitical disruptions and mounting tariff threats — particularly those posed by the US.
Business Day reported on the impact that the (now temporarily paused) 31% tariffs imposed on SA exports could have on agriculture.
“Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are some of the key markets in the Gulf. In Asia, China, India and Vietnam should remain priorities,” the report noted.
Agbiz made the suggestion as a long-term approach for trade, showing that the tariffs situation highlighted a much broader discussion around what and how SA should approach strategic market diversification.
“The Middle East has more potential for expansion, as it is not as saturated as the EU, and there are no competing domestic farmer interests in this region,” the report stated, adding that even though SA already exports a fair amount of agricultural products to the region, its overall presence there is still fairly limited.
Agbiz also stressed the importance of stronger partnerships between the government, business and labour to drive the country’s push into new export markets.
The calls come amid a growing shift in global geopolitics, from a US-led unipolar world to a more fragmented, multipolar trade landscape. This transition has left traditional trade frameworks — such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which previously granted duty-free access to the US — under threat.
Agbiz cautioned that the Trump tariffs have injected volatility into SA’s trade relations with the US, historically a key buyer of wine, citrus and other produce.
Without alternative markets, the economic fallout for agriculture could be profound.
Agriculture remains one of the few sectors in SA with an “ever-expanding” trade surplus. In 2024, exports reached $13.7bn — up 3% year on year — while imports stood at $7.6bn. But the composition of that trade remains heavily reliant on a few regions. In 2024, the African continent absorbed 44% of South African agricultural exports, followed by Asia and the Middle East (21%), the EU (19%) and the Americas (6%).
Yet the business chamber notes that diversification is not merely about geographic spread, but about economic strategy.
Agbiz said the sector cannot afford to sit back and react to global shocks. Instead, it needs to plan ahead — building the right partnerships, using smarter market insights and thinking long-term about where and how it trades.
In the short term, Agbiz urges the private sector, civil society and labour to support government efforts by providing detailed data on how US tariffs are affecting local industries such as citrus, wine, grapes and nuts.
Crucially, they note that this data should highlight not only the effect on SA incomes and jobs, but also the effects on US consumer welfare and food prices.
Agbiz called on the government to urgently engage with US counterparts to resolve existing tariff and non-tariff barriers and for the government to, together with its Southern African Customs Union and Southern African Development Community partners, urgently lay out a framework for a reciprocal trade agreement with the US.
“SA and the rest of the African continent now need to engage the US on a long-term reciprocal trade agreement, which may take years to negotiate, but creates the level of certainty that will attract investments in trade,” the economists said.
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