JOHANNESBURG - South African businesses should consider the continent an extremely important market, especially for trade in value added products, trade and industry minister Rob Davies has said.
Launching the South African stand at the inaugural Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF) in Cairo, Egypt, Davis said the fair was an excellent opportunity for Africa's most industrialised country to increase export volumes into the rest of the continent.
“Two-thirds of South Africa’s trade are with the world, whilst a third of the trade is with the African continent. Of the latter, two-thirds comprise trade in value added products," he said.
“We believe that during the course of the Intra-African Trade Fair, South African exhibitors will find trading partners with the Egyptian business community and hopefully with other African countries too."
Egypt is South Africa’s largest trading partner in North Africa, which trade between the two countries reaching R4 billion in 2017.
The IATF is expected to host at least 1,000 exhibitors from across the continent and beyond with more than 70,000 visitors, generating in excess of $70 billion in trade deals.