Namibia and Botswana have sparked controversy in the agricultural community with their prolonged ban on imported vegetables from SA, a move that has been criticised by stakeholders across the sector.
Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), has expressed concerns about remarks made by Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi on social media platform X. Masisi expressed his support for the country’s ban on vegetable imports from SA, framing it as a strong measure to enhance local farming and bolster the economy.
Botswana, SA, and other affected countries are members of the Southern Africa Customs Union (Sacu), an economic bloc designed to promote free trade and economic integration. Critics such as Sihlobo argue that extending the ban undermines Sacu’s principles of open trade and co-operation, potentially disrupting established trade relationships and regional economic stability.
“The ban was not a new event. Botswana and Namibia regularly close their borders for SA vegetables. However, the prolonged ban started in December 2021 and has been in place since then. The rationale for it, from both Botswana and Namibia’s side, is that it would incentivise production of vegetables in these countries and lower their dependence on SA,” said Sihlobo.
The rest of Africa is an important market for SA farmers. According to Sihlobo, exports to the continent accounted for about 40% of the country’s total agriculture exports (not only vegetables) of $13.2bn in 2023.
“Importantly, [of] every dollar that SA exports to the African continent, 90% is within the Southern African region. Thus, the engagement with this region on the export ban must appreciate that SA greatly depends on the area,” he said.
Thabile Nkunjana, senior economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council, told Business Day that SA’s vegetable exports fell 8% in value terms in 2023 from the previous year, to the lowest level in seven years. This was primarily caused by the ban on vegetable exports to Botswana and Namibia.
“Considering the long-standing trading ties that Sacu plus Mozambique countries have enjoyed over the years, this behaviour is regrettable. Some of SA’s neighbours’ animosity towards the country’s agricultural sector is cause for grave concern,” Nkunjana said.
Some of SA’s neighbours’ animosity towards the country’s agricultural sector is cause for grave concern.
— Thabile Nkunjana, senior economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council
Before the most recent trade ban came into effect, at least 60% of SA’s vegetable exports were bound for Africa, with the majority going to a countries such as Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. Since then that percentage has dropped to 54%, said Nkunjana.
According to senior agricultural economist at FNB Commercial Paul Makube, the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) last month announced a one-month ban for July on the importation of eight of the 20 crops that are on the special controlled products list, including beetroot, butternut, cabbage, onion and sweet potato.
The NAB said in a notice to traders that in August its borders would be closed for the importation of 11 products on the list of 20 crops. Spinach and some types of peppers, for example, were added to the list of banned products for August.
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