The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is key to South Africa’s agricultural growth. If we consider our agricultural exports in 2025, which reached a record US$15.1 billion (up 10% from the previous year), the SADC region accounted for 38%.
In fact, over the past five years, SADC’s share of South Africa’s agricultural exports has been around 36% per year. The large markets are Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zambia, amongst others.
The products leading the export list in the African continent are typically maize, maize meal, wheat, sugar, apples and pears, fruit juices, wine, soybean oil, sunflower oil, oilcake, and rice, amongst others.
I’m outlining the size of this region’s share of our agricultural exports, mainly to illustrate its importance. We can’t have a thriving agricultural sector if there is frequent trade friction in this region, as we increasingly see in some markets. We need to resolve the frequent trade distortions we continue to encounter in Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana through temporary bans on certain agricultural products.
The frequent bans on fruit and vegetable exports are not ideal, and the lack of clear communication about these issues in the region creates uncertainty for businesses and workers.
Not calling out this issue also risks normalising protectionism within the region and undermining confidence in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) commitments.
Therefore, South Africa must take these risks seriously and consistently raise them with our regional partners.
-wandile