Open Access‘Products Mapping’ of South Africa’s Agri-food trade with the EU28 and Africa
Author(s) -
Ivo Zdráhal,
Nahanga Verter,
F. S. Lategan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
agris on-line papers in economics and informatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1804-1930
DOI - 10.7160/aol.2020.120410
Subject(s) - diversification (marketing strategy) , revealed comparative advantage , balance of trade , openness to experience , index (typography) , international trade , comparative advantage , business , international economics , trade barrier , economic integration , food products , market access , economics , agriculture , geography , food science , psychology , social psychology , marketing , world wide web , computer science , chemistry , archaeology
This paper uses ‘products mapping’ tool based on the trade balance index (TBI) and Lafay index to investigate trade performance and competitiveness in food items between South Africa (SA) and the EU28 and Africa. The data for this analysis is obtained from the UNCTAD database. SA’s agri-food trade balance climbed from $1.5 billion in 2005 to $3.1 billion in 2017. The results support the conclusion that in bilateral trade, certain products have comparative advantages in relation to African markets despite comparative disadvantages in relation to the EU28 market. Also, there is no or decreasing diversification towards more and new leading products despite the increased intra-regional openness. Leading products (especially fruit and nuts) are the dominant export generating segments in the product’s structure of SA’s agri-food trade. Also, leading products mostly contribute to the positive balance of SA’s agri-food trade. The findings of this study may contribute to business strategies, trade policies, and regional and inter-regional integration.