President Cyril Ramaphosa is in Bern, Switzerland, on the fourth leg of his foreign tour aimed at strengthening South Africa’s trade ties – with agricultural trade high on the priority list.

By Nico van Burick, Senior Journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

Following official visits to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, President Ramaphosa is currently in Switzerland as a guest of President Karin Keller-Sutter. The two heads of state are focusing on expanding bilateral trade and investment.

During his state visit to Vietnam, Ramaphosa met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the South Africa–Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi, where both leaders committed to strengthening bilateral relations. In agriculture, they agreed that there are significant opportunities for cooperation and trade.

“South Africa is renowned for its fruit, wine, livestock and fisheries, while Vietnam is a global leader in rice, coffee and seafood,” Ramaphosa said in his address to the forum. “Together, we can build resilient food supply chains, foster technology transfer in agro-processing and expand our mutual exports into new markets.”

Also read: Why SA’s agricultural export growth depends on rebuilding lost trade expertise

Greater Market Share

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz, notes that Vietnam imported agricultural products worth $34 billion (R586 billion) in 2024. South Africa accounted for only 0,3% (about R1,7 billion) of this total. The largest suppliers of agricultural products to Vietnam are China, Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Cambodia, Australia, India and Indonesia.

In terms of agricultural trade, Vietnam mainly exports maize, nuts, cotton, soya beans, soya oilcake, wheat, rice, beef and palm oil. South Africa currently exports maize, apples, pears, table grapes, nuts and cotton to Vietnam, but some of these products face tariffs. If these tariffs were reduced, South Africa could gain a greater share of the Vietnamese market.

“South Africa has a variety of other products that could also be exported. State visits such as these to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia should therefore place serious emphasis on agricultural trade,” Sihlobo says. “For agriculture, the main focus is on expanding export markets – a key part of South Africa’s agricultural growth agenda.”

He also described the visit to Indonesia as extremely important for diversifying export destinations. In agricultural terms, Indonesia is crucial for expanding exports, particularly of wine, beef and fruit.

Also read: Market access ‘just first step’ to success in export market

At the moment, Indonesia is not one of our largest agricultural markets, he says. It accounts for only about 0,3% of our agricultural exports, roughly $39 million (R672 million) out of a total of $13,7 billion (R2,36 trillion) in 2024. Yet Indonesia is a major importer of agricultural products, with an annual import value of about $29 billion (R500 billion).

Indonesia mainly imports agricultural products from Brazil, China, Australia, the United States, Thailand, Argentina, Vietnam and India. Its main imported products include wheat, sugar, rice, soya beans, soya oilcake, maize, beef, fruit and peanuts. South Africa, Sihlobo says, has strong potential to expand exports of beef, fruit and wine to this market.

Sihlobo adds that Malaysia is equally important as an export destination for South Africa. At this stage, Malaysia accounts for just 1,4% of South Africa’s agricultural exports.