A recent paper by South African scholars from Stellenbosch has shown that there is a trade imbalance between South Africa and Botswana with the diamond rich economy being a major importer in the relationship.
The research note by Tumelo Modiba, Khothatso Mofolo, William Mwanza and Ron Sandrew titled ‘South Africa’s agricultural trading relationship with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BNLS)’ also revealed that intra-BNSL agricultural trade however remains limited.
In 2014, South Africa imported goods worth R5 billion from Botswana and some P662 million of these imports were agricultural products with frozen beef ranking the highest by value. On the other hand, SA’s agricultural exports to Botswana stood at R6.7 billion which is a wide margin.
The data was sourced from the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Southern African Customs Unions (SACU).
“Clearly, Botswana is a major market for South Africa as all the agricultural lines show South Africa as having a market share of atleast 90% in Botswana. In terms of South Africa’s exports to the world, wheat, sunflower oils, milk concentrates (powder) and rice accounted for significant shares of over 20%,” the paper noted.
The main products imported from Botswana were frozen beef, sugar confectionery, hides and skins and fresh beef.
The beef, hides and skins, and sugar confectionary imports all made a significant contribution to the total South African imports and conversely, most of the exports to South Africa represented a significant portion of the exports from Botswana in those lines.
The total share of South Africa’s imports from Botswana in South Africa’s imports from the world was very low, accounting for only a 0.5 percent share in 2013 and 2014.
South African main agricultural exports to Botswana during 2014 were maize, sugar and wheat. The share of both total products and agricultural products from South Africa that were destined for Botswana was relatively low but still important for both countries in recent years.
Maize was South Africa’s top agricultural export to Botswana in 2014 followed by sugar and wheat. Rice accounted for a fairly high share, highlighting Botswana as one of the main consumers of South African rice with a share of close to 30% and above during the period 2010 to 2014.
Botswana agriculture contribution to the GDP has declined over the years since the discovery of diamonds and other minerals. The country’s agricultural sector contributes a paltry 2 percent of the GDP and providing for up to 50 percent of the country’s food needs. This is a far cry of what it used to be at independence when it was the mainstay of the economy before the discovery of diamonds.
