Africa's Exports Research Articles

The dynamics of the South African lucerne hay industry

ABSTRACT Lucerne hay is undoubtedly one of the most important forage crops used in animal nutrition globally. This article sheds light on the intricacies of the South African lucerne hay sector by offering an industry overview. Lucerne hay quality is categorised into different grades: Supreme, Prime, Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3, each exhibiting its distinct characteristics and attributes based on the nutritional value of dairy cattle. The producer price of lucerne hay is driven by supply and demand in the market. These fluctuations reflect the attractiveness of new producers entering or producers exiting the industry, indicating the sensitivity of market dynamics to external factors like weather and international demand. On average, South Africa exports 160 to 240 thousand tons annually, mainly to neighbouring countries and the Middle East. Over the last several years, the Chinese markets imported a growing volume of South African-produced lucerne hay. Weather conditions are one of the leading drivers of changes in the availability, quantity, and quality of lucerne hay in South Africa, impacting the producer price of lucerne hay in the local market. This article aims to provide insight into the dynamics of the South African lucerne hay industry. Additional research is required to understand the interactions of weather conditions (temperature variations, rainfall and occurrence of rainfall) on lucerne hay production and quality. Understanding international demand for South African lucerne hay will provide insight into the competitiveness of South African lucerne hay in the international market.

The Geological Characteristics, Resource Potential, and Development Status of Manganese Deposits in Africa

Manganese is a critical metal extensively used in steel production, battery manufacturing, and the chemical industry. Manganese deposits are widely distributed globally, with African manganese deposits holding a particularly significant position. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of manganese resources in Africa and analyzes the main types and genesis of the deposits. It also explores the significance of African manganese resources within the global manganese industry and examines the exploration, development, production, and trade status of African manganese ore, revealing dynamic changes and trends within the industry. Africa plays a key role in global manganese resources, with its reserves and resources accounting for 69% and 51% of the global totals, respectively. South Africa is the largest manganese producer, while Gabon and Ghana are also important countries in terms of manganese resources. Based on the host rock and genetic types, African manganese deposits primarily include banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted, black shale-hosted, karst-hosted, and volcanic sedimentary deposits. Additionally, manganese exploration projects in Africa are active, with significant production growth in South Africa and Gabon, and Africa’s standing in the global manganese market is steadily increasing. Trade data also indicate that South Africa dominates manganese exports in Africa and globally. Despite fluctuations in global export volumes, African manganese exports remain high. The prospects for Africa’s manganese industry are promising, and further strengthening of manganese exploration and development will help enhance Africa’s influence in the global manganese market, making a more significant contribution to global industrial and economic development.

Do water risk management strategies lead to environmental upgrading in global value chains? A view from South Africa's export fruit industry

Environmental upgrading is becoming increasingly important in terms of leveraging sustainability in global value chains (GVCs). Existing research focuses on environmental upgrading as a process, while the drivers and outcomes often remain unclear. We address this limitation through a qualitative case study of the South African fruit industry based on interviews and documents, where we investigate the drivers and outcomes of environmental upgrading strategies with a focus on irrigation water use and sustainability. We share three important findings in our paper, which contribute to the literature. First, we identify environmental risk as an important driver for environmental upgrades that has so far been overlooked. Second, we question the current focus of environmental upgrading strategies on technological interventions. Focusing on technological interventions alone, however, is insufficient to address local and global challenges regarding water resources sustainability. Our third finding emphasises the need to consider the wider environmental and political economic context within which environmental upgrading takes place. This is because environmental upgrading strategies can actively contribute to the development of environmental risks for other actors, within or beyond value chains, and therefore have clear limits in their contribution to increasing sustainability.

Firms’ access to finance, export trade channels and exports in Africa

Firms’ access to finance, export trade channels and exports in Africa

Trends in and determinants of South African maize exports in the post-deregulation era

Orientation: Agricultural plays a key role in South Africa’s economy, but its exports are constrained by inadequate transport infrastructure, logistical bottlenecks and high production costs. Therefore, most agricultural products are transported to ports by road instead of the more economical rail. Product prices fluctuate with erratic domestic and international supply and demand, which affects competitiveness.Research purpose: The study investigates how transport cost and logistical shortcomings have impacted South African maize exports and competitiveness.Motivation for the study: Little prior research focused on the impact of transport and logistics on the competitiveness of agricultural exports in Africa. Maize, one of South Africa’s leading agricultural products with still-to-be-tapped export potential, was used as an example.Research approach/design and method: Trends in global maize exports and logistics performance are described, as well as South Africa’s share and rankings. Domestic trends in rail and road transport are investigated together with historic costs. Regression analysis investigates determinants of South African maize export volumes.Main findings: South Africa’s logistics-related competitiveness is declining. Rising domestic transport cost has a statistically significant negative effect on maize export volumes while international prices show the expected positive effect. Separate equations for exports through harbours and border posts rendered different results.Practical/managerial implications: Valuable insights are provided into the critical role of logistics efficiency in maize export competitiveness.Contribution/value-add: Empirical findings provide a starting point for more in-depth studies in this area and more informed policy discussions on how the competitiveness of South Africa’s agricultural exports can be enhanced.

How circular is an extractive economy? South Africa's export orientation results in low circularity and insufficient societal stocks for service-provisioning

The circular economy is a major topic in import-dependant nations like Japan, China or the European Union, where supply security, strengthening domestic value chains and greening economic growth are key concerns. In contrast, extractive economies, mostly in the Global South, provide resources to the world market and thus exhibit inherently linear resource use while struggling for sustainable development. Circularity in resource importing regions could undermine extraction-based development modes, but such effects have rarely been studied yet.Herein, we analyse economy-wide circularity for all flows of materials, energy, waste and emissions in South Africa, for the year 2017. We advance an established methodology regarding interlinked metals mining, constraints to sustainable biomass cycling, and informal disposal, waste picking and informal and formal reuse. Data were developed from national and international sources, and reviewed and co-produced with national experts in an online workshop series.Cornerstones of South Africa's biophysical economy in 2017 are a domestic extraction of 875 Mt, low imports of 32 Mt dominated by oil, 170 Mt of exports dominated by coal and metal ores, resulting in 496 Mt of total waste and emissions. Processed material is 917 Mt or 16 t/cap (EU27: 16 t/cap). Materials use for stock-building is very low at 130 Mt (2.3 t/cap). Socioeconomic input cycling is only 2 % [1.4–2.8 %] and ecologically sustainable biomass cycling is only 4 % [3.9–6.1 %], totalling 6 % input circularity. Given the low circularity, we conclude on leverage points for a transformation towards increased circularity to yield socio-economic benefits in a highly unequal society.

The impact of currency devaluation on non-oil exports in Africa

Aim: This study assesses how devaluation in official exchange rate and change in relative prices influenced non-oil export in African countries for the period of 30 years (1991-2020) in 11 African countries (Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Eswatini, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda).
 Design/Research methods: This study utilized different estimators namely Mean Group, Pooled Mean Group as well as dynamic panel GMM methods. The major advantage of the MG estimator is that it is reliably efficient even in presence of weak cross-sectional dependence of the errors by estimating separate regressions to calculate coefficient means. Moreover, it applicability knows no bounds even when estimator for each individual country is weakly cross correlated. With a PMG estimator, a large scale individual panel heterogeneity in short-run responses is accommodated given homogenous long-run relations across countries.
 Findings: The results of the panel co-integration suggest a long-run equilibrating relation amongst the variables in the study. This was validated on the basis of absolute t-value of 5.0781under the t-bound. Our results for both MG and PMG estimators show significant negative devaluation and relative prices effects on non-oil exports in 11 African countries. The dynamic panel GMM results are robust and in agreement with the estimates of MG and PMG. From the results of cross-sectional analysis by country, results for countries revealed exchange rate devaluation had negative and significant impact on non-oil exports. Consequently, depreciation of the exchange rate has a short-run adverse effect on non-oil export due to high inelastic import dependence. Similarly, with exemption of Rwanda, and South Africa, the relative price effect was negatively significant for every other country in the study.
 Originality: The originality is based on fact that the paper establishes both static and dynamic responses of non-oil export to devaluation in official exchange rate, relative prices, and foreign capital from trading partners in 11 African countries.
 Limitations: It would be desirable to study 30 countries in Africa. We could not proceed with all countries due to inaccessibility of relevant data. Hence, caution should be taken in generalizing our findings.
 Key word: exchange rate devaluation, relative prices, foreign capital, panel ARDL, African countries
 JEL: C33, F13, F21

Linking Southern Africa to South Africa's exports: New opportunities for regional value chains

AbstractThis study explores the potential for South Africa to become an engine for intra‐regional trade and industrial development in Southern Africa. It focuses on new backward linkages that can be created from South African exports of final products to producers of intermediate inputs in other Southern African countries. We do so by identifying South Africa's lead products, where it has formed its own GVCs, and, in turn, earmarking intermediate inputs used in the production of these lead products. Using Revealed Comparative Advantage and Unit Cost analysis, we identify Southern African countries that could supply the identified imported intermediate inputs more competitively than South Africa's existing partners and kickstart regional integration. We explore issues around the nature of linkages, supplier capabilities and industrial policies in the region, with special reference to the identified product value chains. Focusing on the agricultural sector—a key regional priority with immense potential for industrial growth and large‐scale employment—we also identify existing agricultural lead products in South Africa, and the ‘new markets’ to which South Africa can export.

Promoting The Country of Origin Through the Assets of Exported Services: The Moroccan Case

Banking services are one of the main Moroccan exports in Africa. These representations can be studied in order to verify the reversed country of origin effect. Can these services impact the way their users perceive the country? Do they even communicate on their origin or does their process focus on the economical variables only? These questions nurture the scientific research.

The impact of free trade agreements on Middle East and North Africa exports of intermediate and final goods

AbstractThis paper is the first to analyse the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) and the harmonisation of rules of origin (RoO) on Middle East and North African (MENA) countries’ exports differentiating between final and intermediate goods for a global sample of trade partners. Data on exports from four MENA countries (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia) to 61 destinations over the period 1995–2016 are used to estimate a structural gravity model applying a Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator. Moreover, the paper estimates the effect of the progressive adoption of the Pan‐European‐Mediterranean RoO. Results show that FTAs have been overall successful in increasing MENA exports. This is particularly true for FTAs that eliminate protection on agricultural products. In contrast to the existing literature, we find that the agreements concluded with European countries raise MENA exports, whereas no significant impact is found for the application of the Pan‐European RoO.

Tourism and Trade Nexus in Africa: A Gravity Model Approach

The tourism industry is now an important economic sector in Africa. However, as with trade, Africa’s global share of the tourism industry is quite small, which could be attributed to a similarly low level of both intra-regional trade and tourism. Prevailing data and studies suggest that there is a relationship between tourism and trade. The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine the empirical link between tourism and exports in Africa for the period 2006 to 2015. We estimate a structural gravity model using the Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood (PPML) estimator that allows for bilateral zero trade values between trading partners, controls for heteroskedasticity and addresses the potential endogeneity. We find that a 10 percent increase in intra-African tourism boosts the continental exports by between 1.4 and 3.2 percent. These results strongly posit that boosting regional tourism could be instrumental in catalysing intra-African trade, especially within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Financial constraint, trust, and export performances: firm-level evidence from Africa

AbstractSeveral existing studies have documented a negative relationship between firm financial constraint and export activities but do not attempt to examine factors that could attenuate this relationship in Africa. In this paper, we examine the effect of financial constraint on exports in Africa and explore how the level of trust in countries where firms are located shapes this relationship. We combine the World Bank Enterprise Surveys with different measures of country-level personal and interpersonal trust computed from the Afrobarometer surveys of 19 African countries. Our results show that financial constraints negatively affect export activities. However, this negative effect is attenuated for firms that are located in trust-intensive societies. These findings are robust to different specifications. Interestingly, we find that small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa are more likely to be affected by financial constraints but also more likely to benefit from a higher level of both personal and interpersonal trust, while for larger firms only interpersonal trust matters.

Biological Control of a Phytosanitary Pest (Thaumatotibia leucotreta): A Case Study.

Thaumatotibia leucotreta, known as the false codling moth, is a pest of citrus and other crops in sub-Saharan Africa. As it is endemic to this region and as South Africa exports most of its citrus around the world, T. leucotreta has phytosanitary status for most markets. This means that there is zero tolerance for any infestation with live larvae in the market. Consequently, control measures prior to exporting must be exemplary. Certain markets require a standalone postharvest disinfestation treatment for T. leucotreta. However, the European Union accepts a systems approach, consisting of three measures and numerous components within these measures. Although effective preharvest control measures are important under all circumstances, they are most critical where a standalone postharvest disinfestation treatment is not applied, such as within a systems approach. Conventional wisdom may lead a belief that effective chemical control tools are imperative to achieve this end. However, we demonstrate that it is possible to effectively control T. leucotreta to a level acceptable for a phytosanitary market, using only biological control tools. This includes parasitoids, predators, microbial control, semiochemicals, and sterile insects. Simultaneously, on-farm and environmental safety is improved and compliance with the increasing stringency of chemical residue requirements imposed by markets is achieved.

Transforming the world order amid the emerging multipolarity: Evidence from the African continent

Subject. As the world becomes more multipolar, global leaders change their approaches to capture the areas they dominate. Currently, advocates of the Western and Eastern models clash, with the latter demonstrating a greater efficiency. Objectives. I examine the foreign trade of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, assuming that the region's countries are teetering on the edge of the Western and Eastern approaches to determining the domination area of the leading country. Methods. The study is based on the systems approach, comparative and statistical methods for reviewing exports and imports of Sub-Saharan Africa, illustrating the case of South Africa. Results. As the global economy currently develops, the multipolar world and its emergence are showed to gain momentum, with Sub-Saharan Africa actively diversifying their foreign trade. I mention the way the USA, EU, China, India and Russia influence the region and evaluate development trends in south Africa's exports and imports, setting their further development trend. Notwithstanding the noticeable impact of the USA, Sub-Saharan Africa establish regional alliances and tend to follow the course of other States, with China becoming increasingly important. Conclusions and Relevance. Transforming the world order into the multipolar format, the third-world countries should diversify their foreign trade, following multiple vectors in their economic policy, thus ensuring their own economic security and an opportunity to raise their significance regionally and internationally.

Potential impacts of free trade areas and common currency on sustainable agricultural export in Africa

This study probes the potential impacts of free trade areas and common currency in fostering agricultural export based on data from 45 countries in Africa from 1996 to 2018. The main concern is to determine whether exogenous events like becoming a member of Arab Mighreb (AMU), Community of Sahel‐Saharan States (CS‐SS), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC) or becoming a member of African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) can potentially accentuate agricultural export. From the main finding, there is evidence that membership becoming membership to AMU, CS‐SS, AMU, CEN‐SAD, COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD or part of SADC has a positive marginal impact on agricultural export, its influence is not immediate. Also, the positive marginal impact on agricultural export for becoming a member of AFCFTA continues to decline after 1 or 2 years than the current year. Common currency and economic growth have a positive marginal impact on agricultural export for the period covered by the study.

The Demand for Imports and Exports in Africa: A Survey

To drive economic development, it is important for policy makers to have a good understanding of the linkages between imports, exports, and the rest of the economy. This is particularly true for Africa. The continent depends on exports of commodities to finance imports of manufactured goods for consumption and investment purposes. The importance of trade to African economies is underscored by one fact: the region has one of the highest ratios of imports and exports to gross domestic product. In this paper, we survey the literature on import and export demand elasticities and present a broad set of estimates for the countries of Africa. These estimates collected in our survey can support both academic research and policy making on the continent. They also provide a road map for future research on the determinants of trade flows on the continent. The results reveal large gaps in our understanding of the determinants of trade flows in the region—those gaps serve as pointers for future research.

Prospects for promoting the online model of Russian education exports in Africa

Problem and goal. The task of increasing the number of foreign students twice by 2024, set before the Russian universities by the country’s leadership in the framework of the national project “Education”, will require a revision of the traditional approach to the recruitment of foreign students. It is obvious that in conditions of limited organizational, human and financial resources of the country’s universities will require fundamentally new forms and technologies of recruiting, and in the future and new forms of training of students. The article deals with the actual problem of implementation and realization of the online model of export of Russian education in the conditions of expansion of export activity of Russian universities for the recruitment of foreign students in Africa. The purpose of the described study was to determine the basic conditions for the implementation of the online model of export of Russian education in Africa, identifying the target countries of Africa, promising for recruiting students. Methodology. The definition of the features and conditions of the online model of education export was carried out on the basis of the analysis of the best practices of foreign universities (TOP-500) and Russian universities (participants of Project 5-100). The main conditions for the implementation of this online model of education exports, the availability of appropriate infrastructure, the potential effectiveness of the export model in Africa (target countries) are analyzed. Results. The study revealed that the use of the online model of export of education by Russian universities in Africa, based on the use of telecommunication technologies, can affect the increase in the number of Foreign students and have a positive impact on the effectiveness of recruiting activities of the Russian University in modern conditions through the introduction of online recruiting methods of recruitment of foreign students, attracting a new audience of foreign students, the implementation of online training in Africa, which, ultimately, greetings to the increase in university income from educational activities received from foreign sources. Conclusion. It is shown that the use of the online model of education exports can have a significant impact on the competitiveness of Russian universities in Africa and the increase in the number of foreign students enrolled in online programs of Russian universities in their target countries.

Export Volatility and Diversification: Evidence from Sino-African Trade

China's share of Africa's goods exports increased from less than 1% in 1989 to 12.4% in 2016. Did this rapid shift in Africa's exports help or hurt economic stability on the continent? To address the question, this paper decomposes export growth shocks into its components, to estimate the share of export volatility originating from sector volatility, country-specific volatility and idiosyncrasies that are not explained by factors specific to the exporting country or sector. China's surge in imports from Africa contributed to the rise of primary commodities' share of the continent's total exports, and in doing so, increased exposure to sector-specific volatility for the average African economy. Nevertheless, the trade shift towards China had little effect on aggregate export volatility, as it helped to diversify export destinations for many African economies.

THE TEK MECHANICAL CASSAVA HARVESTER DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA – CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND PROSPECTS FOR CASSAVA PRODUCTION IN AFRICA

The low level of engineering technology inputs into agriculture is a major constraint hindering themodernization of agriculture and food production in many parts of Africa. Cassava (Manihot esculentaCrantz), is a climate resilient crop grown by smallholder farmers in most sub-Saharan Africa countries.Cassava provides dietary carbohydrates for over 800 million people globally. It is also a bio-fuel sourcethat can replace fossil fuels. Africa is not visible in the cassava industrialisation and export marketbecause it depends on over-aged farmers, who use manual tools and traditional production methods thatdo not attract the youth. One major challenge to all year-round cassava production for industry andexport in Africa is the time consuming, labour intensive and expensive manual harvesting method.Manual cassava harvesting is full of drudgery and takes 5 to 10 minutes to uproot a plant, depending onsoil condition. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate and popularise an innovativemechanical cassava harvester developed in Ghana (OAPI patent No. 17219), to mechanise andmodernise cassava production in Africa. The device harvests at a rate of one plant per second or lessespecially when the ground is hard. For the innovation to be disseminated successfully, tractor operatorsand smallholder farmers must be trained to acquire mechanised production methods. Cassava farmersneed to change from planting in the traditional haphazard manner to adopt row and ridge planting tocomply with mechanical harvesting at plant maturity. The device is to up-scale and increase cassavaproduction for food security, industrial use and export in Africa.

China–Africa Exports: Governance Through Mobility and Sojourning

ABSTRACTA centre for Asian and intercontinental immigration and export-oriented production, Guangzhou city is at the forefront of China’s global interactions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines informal governance mechanisms that co-ordinate the circulation of goods and capital between China and Africa. The question addressed is: What roles do mobility and sojourning play in governing trade relations? The analysis is informed by research from three fields: economics scholarship on the trade–migration nexus, ethnographic studies of informal trans-border trade, and historical accounts of long-distance trade in pre-colonial and colonial eras. These traditions point to different ways in which the mobility of people and goods are interlinked. In the case of China–Africa interactions, the flow of goods has increased in tandem with the number of visits by African itinerant traders. The empirical discussion demonstrates that the emergence of intercontinental movements of goods and people between China and Africa was predicated on the brokering role played by African sojourners in Guangzhou. Of particular importance was informal hospitality and logistics infrastructure set up by Africans in the late 1990s, which subsequently evolved and adapted. This infrastructure has facilitated the mobility of people and goods and increased the pace at which trading capital circulates.