Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade in Southern Africa: Towards a Measurement Approach

The report identifies and quantifies non-tariff barriers (NTBs) along the Durban–Gaborone corridor, finding that these barriers account for 24.4% of round-trip heavy vehicle running costs. The most significant costs are attributed to South African toll roads, including direct fees and indirect costs from fuel consumption and downtime. Other identified NTBs include Botswana user charges, infrastructure deterioration, weighbridge delays, harbour permit costs, and border clearance procedures. The study suggests that these NTBs contribute approximately 1.83% to the final cost of sales, which, when modelled against South Africa's GDP, represents a potential national impact of R31.61 billion.

• Toll roads in South Africa are the most significant non-tariff barrier on the Durban–Gaborone route, with total costs for a return trip amounting to R3,091.91. This includes direct toll fees of R1,454.00, indirect fuel costs of R910.36 due to stop-start operations, and downtime costs of R727.55.
• Non-tariff barriers account for R5,645.36 of the total round-trip cost for an 8-axle articulated unit on the 2,100km Durban–Gaborone corridor, representing 24.4% of the total trip costs.
• When modelled using data from a Barloworld Logistics study, NTBs on this corridor translate to 1.83% of the final cost of sales. Applied to South Africa's GDP of R1,727.5 billion, this suggests a crude national impact of R31.61 billion annually.
• Infrastructure deficiencies and maintenance issues act as NTBs, specifically the poor state of the road from Gaborone to Tlokweng, where a 16km trip can take 1.5 hours, and roadworks on the Durban–Tshwane/Pretoria corridor that add an estimated R485.03 in cost per trip.
• Weighbridges create significant delays and costs; for example, waiting times at sites like Heidelberg and Mooi River can reach 1.5 hours, adding R727.55 to downtime costs. Additionally, the implementation of overloading controls at Groblers Bridge in 2005 led to a 59% drop in south-bound traffic as vehicles diverted to the Kopfontein/Tlokweng border.
• Border post transactions contribute R681.59 to the total NTB costs, representing 12.07% of the total identified NTBs on the route. This includes downtime and fuel usage during customs, police, and immigration clearance.

APA

Pierides, C. (2008). Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade in Southern Africa: Towards a Measurement Approach. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_rep_21_pierides_2008.pdf

Chicago

Pierides, Costa. Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade in Southern Africa: Towards a Measurement Approach. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2008. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_rep_21_pierides_2008.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pierides |first1=Costa |title=Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade in Southern Africa: Towards a Measurement Approach |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_rep_21_pierides_2008.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pierides2008nontariff, author = {Pierides, Costa}, title = {{Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade in Southern Africa: Towards a Measurement Approach}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/dttp_rep_21_pierides_2008.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }