Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique have recently introduced restrictions on South African agricultural exports, including vegetables and fruit. Namibia and Botswana are fellow members of the Southern African Customs Union. A core feature of a customs union is the free movement of goods within the common customs area.
All three countries have also committed to removing trade barriers within the continent by 2030 under the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. The recent measures conflict with these commitments and with the legal architecture of SACU.
There is no basis for import restrictions in the common customs area to advantage domestic sectors. Within SACU, exceptions to free movement of agricultural goods are limited to national security risks and outbreaks of crop and animal diseases. Animal diseases were not cited as a factor in the December restrictions on South African vegetables, fruit, and some poultry products.
Food security and efforts to increase domestic agricultural production remain priorities for many governments. However, domestic policy measures should not create barriers that disadvantage producers in other countries within a customs union.
The agriculture and food sectors in the SACU region are interlinked. A coordinated regional approach to strengthen production capabilities and develop regional value chains is viewed as preferable to restrictive measures. Supply-side instruments could be aligned regionally to support production without disrupting trade flows.
South Africa dominates regional agriculture and food production due to scale, agro-economic advantages, and technical capacity. When neighbouring countries seek to expand production, coordination with South Africa and reliance on South African agribusinesses for inputs have been proposed as options.
The region remains an important export destination for South Africa. In 2025, about 17% of South Africa’s US$15.1 billion in agricultural exports were destined for the SACU region. This is close to the 21% share exported to the European Union.
South Africa has indicated that the immediate priority is the resolution of the trade-restrictive measures through structured and high-level dialogue. The introduction of import restrictions on agricultural products within a customs union is considered inconsistent with both the legal framework and the broader objectives of regional integration.
Source: BusinessDay
