Steenhuisen | Diversifying SA's agricultural exports essential for jobs and growth

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has underscored the need for diversifying South Africa’s agricultural exports, stressing that it is vital for economic growth and job creation.

Steenhuisen’s comments came after a recent working trip to Japan, aimed at enhancing agricultural trade and opening new markets for South African products.

Amid ongoing concerns over deteriorating relations with the United States, various sectors have called for South Africa to seek alternative markets. There is increasing worry that the country may be removed from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which would impact access to the US market.

Introduced in 2000, AGOA grants duty-free access to more than 1,800 products from eligible sub-Saharan African countries. Experts have warned that South Africa’s exclusion from AGOA could lead to thousands of job losses, particularly in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

The US is South Africa's second-largest trading partner and the fifth-largest market for its vehicle exports.

With an unemployment rate of 31.9%, the country has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, and youth unemployment remains a significant concern, with almost half of young people affected.

Steenhuisen emphasised the importance of diversifying the country's offerings and expanding its markets globally while also maintaining existing trade agreements.

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"This is all very important, we need to diversify our offerings and our markets around the world, but we also need to look at how we can deepen and widen existing trade agreements.

"It's such a pleasure to be able to market South Africa's incredible agricultural products in other markets around the world because this is fundamentally important for economic growth and for jobs, the more markets we find for South African products, the more profits we make for our economy but also jobs follow that growth," Steenhuisen said.

Steenhuisen further revealed that during the working visit, he also met with Japan's State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Takinami Hirofumi.

"I met with my counterpart the minister of agriculture, we discussed how we can open up the Japanese market for more South African products particularly, on the citrus and looking at wine.

"How we can work together with the Japanese government to lower some of the tariffs to be able to make this an incredibly good market. I have also appointed an agricultural attaché who will be based in Tokyo to facilitate this process over the next few years."

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