According to the International Trade Centre, the UN Conference on Trade & Development, and the World Trade Organisation, over the past five years SA vegetable export earnings have averaged R3.1 billion a year. Vegetable export earnings from SA increased moderately year on year in 2022, rising from R3.3 billion in 2021 to R3.4 billion, exceeding the five-year average of R3.1 billion. This was expected after a difficult year due to several issues.
As is generally the case for SA agricultural product exports, the rest of Africa was the largest market for vegetables, accounting for 64% in 2022. The EU was the second-largest vegetable market, accounting for 22% of exports, followed by Asia and the Middle East, accounting for 10%. The remaining 4% is shared among other parts of the world.
Predictably, overall vegetable exports to Botswana plummeted 53% from R498 million in 2021 to R234 million in 2022 as a result of the prohibition it placed on vegetable imports from SA, in contravention of trade agreements. Surprisingly, exports to Namibia increased slightly — by 1.8% from R296 million in 2021 to R301 million in 2022, despite a similar unilateral ban.
Potato exports showed an increase of 2%, from 181,000 tons in 2021 to 185,000 tons in 2022, valued at R794 million. This was 4.7% higher than the R758 million recorded the previous year.
Source: businesslive.co.za