Tariff-hit South Africa targets Asian buyers for farm produce

[JOHANNESBURG] South Africa is trying to open up new markets in Asia and elsewhere for its farm produce that has been hit with punitive US import tariffs.

The priority is to export more to China, where duty-free access has been secured for five types of fruit, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said, without specifying what they were. Russia, South Korea, the Philippines, Japan and nations in the Middle East are also being targeted.

“I would sell my products anywhere in the world, to whoever wants them,” Steenhuisen said on Monday (Aug 11). “We have goods to sell and our job is to look for customers, and we will work to open protocols wherever.”

Many South African exports to the US, including its citrus, nuts, grapes and wine, have been subjected to 30 per cent duties since Aug 7. The levies, the highest imposed on goods from any sub-Saharan African nation, are part of US President Donald Trump’s bid to reshape America’s relationship with its trading partners.

Some South African producers will be able to weather the new charges, according to Steenhuisen.

“There are also some who say that they can still compete with a 30 per cent tariff,” because the weak rand-dollar exchange rate gives them an advantage, he said. For instance, avocado producers “are happy to compete on the 30 per cent basis as long as the market remains open in the US”, he said.

The minister is trying to resolve a protracted dispute between South Africa’s citrus industry and the European Union over health protocols, and hopes to negotiate a bilateral accord that will enable them to be circumvented. The citrus industry has previously criticised the measures, complaining that they cost the sector about 3.7 billion rand (S$268 million) each season.

“The low-hanging fruit for us is to get this black spot issue resolved in Europe,” Steenhuisen said. “We could then redirect a lot of the citrus in there.” BLOOMBERG