Edited by Eamonn Ryan
The vast agricultural potential of the African continent, a key theme at Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking’s Africa Unlocked Conference 2025, is facing new complexities. This is Part 2 of a two-part series.
Western Cape: a region under threat
Despite the potentially modest overall economic impact on national agricultural exports, the Western Cape province stands to face significant disruption. Russel Brueton, chief marketing and innovation officer at Wesgro, the Western Cape’s tourism, trade, and investment promotion agency, underscored the immediate effect. He stated that the tariff uncertainty was already causing “concern among businesses in the province,” as “the supply chains that have been established cannot be changed overnight. Businesses are struggling to plan.”
Wesgro’s data reveals the US is the Western Cape’s second-largest export market, accounting for R16.2 billion in 2024, representing 8% of the province’s total exports. Key products affected include citrus, wine and fruit juice, making producers of these commodities particularly vulnerable to the new tariffs.
Intra-African trade: a slow start amid global headwinds
The discussions at the conference also pivoted to the broader challenges of intra-African trade, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. While AfCFTA came into effect in May 2019, with a trade pilot commencing in October 2022, its full potential remains hampered.
Panellists highlighted ongoing hurdles such as unresolved tariff lines in several sectors, high trade costs, and critical infrastructure gaps, including inefficient customs procedures and poor cross-border connectivity. Compounding these issues is a limited awareness among businesses regarding AfCFTA’s benefits, with many African governments seemingly favoring bilateral agreements over regional integration.
Pienaar expressed disappointment at the lack of prioritisation for regional trade, citing examples like Angola importing beef from Brazil despite Zambia being an “excellent beef producer.” Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim emphasised that Africa’s supply chains remain underdeveloped and fragmented. “Africa doesn’t consume what Africa produces,” he asserted, suggesting that fostering regional trading hubs, rather than a singular continental approach, might better serve African nations.
The unfolding scenario with US tariffs serves as a stark reminder of the external pressures influencing African economies, further underscoring the imperative for robust internal trade mechanisms and diversified market strategies to build resilience and unlock the continent’s vast agricultural promise.