THERE is now clear evidence that the trade and industry department’s ill-considered Chinese clothing import quotas have been a dismal failure, and in some cases are having the opposite effect to what was intended. 

TRADE conferences, expositions and exhibitions taking place in the coming weeks: 

INTER-REGIONAL trade was still too low and was “heavily loaded in favour of SA”. This was the view of Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad, who addressed delegates at last month’s Association of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chambers of Commerce and Industry conference in Johannesburg. 

SINCE the end of Mozambique’s civil war and the advent of democracy in SA, the two countries have strengthened their relations, especially in the area of economic cooperation and investment, resulting in a number of multibillion-rand economic projects. Marja Tuit spoke to Fernando Andrade Fazenda, Mozambican High Commissioner to SA.  

THE future of the sugar industry is once again looking rosy after disappointing cane yields and quality last year, which also affected the export market. 

ALUMINIUM manufacturer Hulett Aluminium (Hulamin) exports to 40 different countries across the globe. Its biggest market is North America, followed by Europe. However, it only has about 1% of the global market. 

PIETERMARITZBURG-based Hulamin became a separately listed entity on the JSE in June following its unbundling from sugar and property group Tongaat Hulett. 

A MAJOR trilateral initiative to exploit the hydropower potential of the Rusumo Falls on the Kagera river on the border between Rwanda and Tanzania could provide a much needed solution to the region’s energy crisis, where power deficiencies continue to hamper economic growth and compromise investment in new projects. 

FOOD manufacturer Foodcorp’s exports are a small part of its business, but not by design, says CEO Justin Williamson. 

COMMENTARY on the state’s plans to take a more active, interventionist role in our economy is reaching fever-pitch. All manner of concerns have been raised. Should the state intervene more directly? Are planned interventions focused in the right areas? Are we risking nasty unintended consequences of greater state involvement? Can the state actually do it? 

MALAYSIAN Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s recent visit to SA has opened a window for rebuilding the trade base between the two countries.  

IT HAS been a long time coming, but the government has finally unveiled its new National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF), an accompanying Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and a whole lot of other acronyms. Unfortunately it’s all rather a damp squib — literally, a firework that has no bang. 

AFTER the Second World War several cases of what became called the “cargo cult” were observed among isolated Polynesian islanders. Having witnessed foreigners engaged in a strange new activity without grasping its function, they made crude imitation jungle airstrips with makeshift windsocks, bamboo control towers and wooden radar. Then they sat around hopefully awaiting planes to land and disgorge foreign goods.  

MORE foreign direct investment (FDI) and a concerted national strategy designed to promote exports across the board are vital if SA is to transform itself from an also-ran into a winner in the international trading stakes, says Roger Baxter, Chamber of Mines chief economist. 

THE downside of Angola’s rapid growth is the proliferation of new laws. The past few years after the civil war ended has seen a record number of laws promulgated to set up legal mechanisms to cater for Angola’s extraordinary expansion. 

WITH multilateral trade negotiations in a lull as Europeans enjoy their summer break, the big thing on SA’s trade agenda at the moment is an attempt to finalise economic partnership agreements with the EU before year-end, writes Mathabo le Roux. 

THERE is a general perception that South African markets are flooded by cheap Chinese imports and that these imports exert pressure on local producers.  

WALVIS BAY: THE latest National Ports Authority (NPA) figures indicate South African ports handled 16,4-million tons of bulk cargo and 1,4-million tons of breakbulk cargo in July, meaning both categories experienced a marginal dip from the tonnages handled in June. Total containers landed were 161425 TEUs against the 151561 TEUs from the previous month.

AFRICA and India together make up half of the world’s humanity. More notable than the numbers, however, is their emerging synergy, both bilateral and global. India’s position as a major world player and potential partner is being acknowledged by Africa, while Africa’s increasing market strength has been noted by India, contributing an exciting element to south-south co-operation.  

THE business of exporting people has nasty connotations of slave labour, or the more recent but equally unwelcome brain drain. 

MIKE Moore, once director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), recalls that at the launch of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations in November 2001, a trade minister passed him a note with the word “Doha” scribbled on it. The minister had drawn a line through the “h” and added: “Dead on Arrival”. 

SA PRODUCES some of the world’s best quality canned peaches, pears and apricots, but the industry’s global market share has been declining against a background of expansion by competing countries. 

AUSTRALIA’S steady political and economic environment has positive effects on an already good payment record of companies. There is a very low default probability. 

AS THE centre of China’s economic development, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become an important engine of growth. The People’s Daily reported in June that there are about 42-million established SMEs in China, and together they constitute as much as 99% of the total number of all Chinese enterprises. 

“WELCOME to Ghana,” I was told, with just a hint of sarcasm, as the lights tripped during my meeting at a government office in Accra a few months ago. Naïvely, I asked whether the lights would come on again so that we could resume our meeting, but was told this was unlikely for another eight hours due to the country’s crippling energy crisis and the need for “load shedding” every second day. 

MANY potential exporters spend months trying to convince bank managers to finance their business ideas. And research shows that South African banks are wary of financing small businesses, seeking forms of security that such enterprises can seldom supply. Consequently, many potential export initiatives fail to get off the ground. 

THE European Union (EU) has a reputation of being one of the most regulated markets in the world, which accompanies the reality that it is the largest market. Its emerging Reach programme sees it aiming for new heights to ensure environmental and health safety standards for EU citizens. This will set a new benchmark regulatory framework for other countries to emulate, as is so often the case with EU governance systems.