Africa-Press – South-Africa. Botswana has again restricted imports of several vegetables from its neighbours, including South Africa.
A government notice issued by Botswana’s Ministry of Lands and Agriculture on December 8 lists about 16 vegetables that are banned from import.
This includes tomatoes, potatoes, white and red cabbage, onions, watermelon, beetroot, carrots, lettuce, ginger, red and yellow peppers, garlic and butternut. The ban is in place “until further notice”.
South Africa exports about $218 million (R3.69 billion) of vegetables annually to global markets.
Botswana accounts for roughly $17 million (R288 million), or 8%, of that total. The precise number of local farmers affected by the latest restrictions is unclear.
Speaking on The Money Show, Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said Botswana’s latest trade ban on South African produce is very frustrating.
He noted that it is not only frustrating for local farmers and exporters, but also undermines the regional trade rules meant to guide economic cooperation between the two countries.
Sihlobo said the way Botswana imposed the restriction mirrors previous episodes where the country “wakes up and then they place a ban and they don’t communicate with the next country but also communicate with press releases that cause a lot of disruption.”
For him, the core problem is not the vegetables at the centre of the ban, but the way the decision was made.
If every country, whenever it is unhappy or has certain aspirations, places a ban without consultation, he argues, it erodes trust and makes regional trade planning impossible.
Sihlobo said South Africa would prefer better coordination to understand the aspirations of what Botswana is attempting to do, and then ensure that we support them in those efforts.
He noted that the ban cannot be justified on the basis of South Africa overwhelming Botswana’s farmers.
Botswana has a strong commercial farming sector, but it is largely centred on livestock. “They are not even a big player” in vegetables, he said.
SACU members do not follow the rules
Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo
South Africa exports around $218 million worth of vegetable products globally, and Botswana accounts for only about 8% of this.
The public conversation online has reduced the matter to a fight “over tomatoes,” he said, but “the issue is not tomatoes. The issue is the rules that are not being followed in SACU.”
This repeated pattern, he argued, exposes deep problems in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
While South Africa is obliged to consult SACU members every time it negotiates bilateral trade deals, Sihlobo said the same discipline is not applied by its neighbours.
“We are having to come back to consult countries—countries that do not consult South Africa”. This imbalance is becoming a major obstacle for South Africa’s economic diplomacy.
“We are now running into a lot of friction… which is why I always argue that SACU needs to be reviewed both for easing our trade agreements but also for easing up the friction that we currently see so that South African businesses can plan well.”
He also questioned why Botswana did not simply raise its concerns directly. “You can tap on South Africa’s shoulders and say, I am trying to grow my XYZ industry,” Sihlobo said.
In such a scenario, “we can even assist in making sure that you have the inputs to do that,” allowing industries on both sides to plan around the changes.
Instead, the absence of notice or consultation creates policy uncertainty. “The challenge is the inconsistency when rules change,” he says.
The unilateral approach also complicates South Africa’s efforts to expand its exports globally.
“When South Africa now has to negotiate trade agreements with any other country in the world market, we cannot do that unilaterally,” Sihlobo noted.
“We have to come back and talk to SACU and follow the rules, and we’ve been doing that. However, the challenge I’m having is that SACU members do not follow the rules of SACU,” creating friction at the very moment South Africa is trying to diversify its exports.
Ultimately, Sihlobo warned that South Africa remains constrained in the current environment by neighbours who do not uphold agreed processes.
He added that this is untenable for a country trying to grow its agricultural exports and maintain stable regional partnerships.
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