Regional – Comment South Africa’s Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Sustain Manufacturing Recently released trade data from South Africa’s Customs and Excise Department shows that regional markets continue to remain critical to South African companies and to manufacturers in particular. Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa reached R311bn in 2016, or 30% of South Africa’s total export basket by country, making our region the key market for South African exporters. Moreover, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for around 38% of value-added exports destined for other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Is the market saturated with South African products? Not at all – 88% of all our exports are destined for our SADC partners, with only 12% destined for the other 35 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. These include ‘majors’ such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Senegal. Thus, whilst South African companies have made great strides in our immediate region, there are definitely markets that remain untapped outside of this.
