SPECIAL FEATURE
Ports and exports: KwaZulu-Natal has an abundance of both Companies in a wide range of sectors are seeing potential in Africa and China.
Credit: TNPA
A
new era in trade and export has begun and the traders, logistics operators and por ts of KwaZulu-Natal are in pole position to take up new opportunities. Not only is the province strategically located on the Indian Ocean but it already has excellent infrastructure which is being upgraded and improved. The official date for the new era was 1 January 2021 for that date marked the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). All but one of Africa’s 54 countries have signed the agreement and a majority of countries have ratified it. Implementation was postponed for six months because of Covid-19. Tariffs on 90% of items are due to be reduced in the next decade although more time has been allocated to poorer countries to allow them time to adapt. The African market of 1.3-billion people is expected to grow to 2.5-billion by 2050 but the key statistic targeted by AfCFTA is intra-African trade. KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2021/22
Exports to the rest of the world made up between 80% and 90% of Africa’s total trade from 2000 to 2017 (UNCTAD). In 2019 about 27% of South Africa’s exports were delivered to the rest of the continent. As part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), South Africa is already part of the most active regional bodies which are promoting integration and intra-regional trade. These regional groupings are best placed to start thinking beyond tariffs: more efficient customs posts, lower air-freight costs, better-run ports, regulatory alignment and improved rail and road infrastructure. Even before AfCFTA was signed, one of the largest independent wire manufacturers in the country, Hendok Group, set about steadily increasing its exports to other African countries. With more than 1 000 employees at the factory in the Phoenix Industrial Park in Durban, the company makes a number of types of wires and is the country’s biggest producer of nails.
18
