THE IMPACT OF THE SADC EPA ON SOUTH AFRICA’S AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING SECTORS

This policy briefing examines the impact of the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on South Africa's agriculture and agro-processing sectors. While the agreement provides tariff preferences and liberal rules of origin, South Africa has struggled to fill its awarded quotas due to a lack of awareness, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues, and climatic challenges. The document highlights the potential for SMEs, women, and youth to benefit from the EPA, particularly in the canned fruit and juice sectors, provided that barriers such as certification costs and a lack of specialized testing laboratories are addressed.

• The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force in October 2016, provides tariff preferences for South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and Mozambique, with benefits increasing for more processed products.
• South Africa has failed to fully utilize its EPA quotas for several processed fruit products. As of October 2017, 0% of the annual quota for canned tropical fruit and 5% of the apple juice quota were used, while 44% of the non-tropical canned fruit juice quota was utilized. Frozen orange juice was the only processed fruit to use its full quota.
• Low uptake of the EPA quotas is attributed to a lack of awareness, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements, and drought in western South Africa. Additionally, some South African industries are shifting focus toward Asian markets as EU opportunities in certain sectors are not growing as rapidly.
• The South African canned fruit and fruit juice industry is highly export-driven, with 82% of canned fruits exported in 2016. However, the sector faces challenges from EU consumer trends demanding 'clean labelling', reduced sugar, and fewer preservatives.
• A significant barrier for South African SMEs is the lack of local laboratories for sophisticated product-specific testing, such as measuring average sugar percentages in juice. This forces exporters to send products to Europe, increasing costs and exchange rate vulnerability.
• The South African government has implemented several support schemes to boost agro-processing, including the 2017 Agro-Processing Support Scheme targeting new smaller entrants, the development of AgriParks to assist SME farmers with certification and logistics, and the IDC's Agro-processing Competitiveness Fund.

APA

BERTELSMANN-SCOTT, T., & MARKOWITZ, C. (2018). THE IMPACT OF THE SADC EPA ON SOUTH AFRICA’S AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING SECTORS. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Briefing-174.pdf

Chicago

BERTELSMANN-SCOTT, TALITHA, and CHELSEA MARKOWITZ. THE IMPACT OF THE SADC EPA ON SOUTH AFRICA’S AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING SECTORS. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Briefing-174.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BERTELSMANN-SCOTT |first1=TALITHA |last2=MARKOWITZ |first2=CHELSEA |title=THE IMPACT OF THE SADC EPA ON SOUTH AFRICA’S AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING SECTORS |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Briefing-174.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertelsmannscott2018impact, author = {BERTELSMANN-SCOTT, TALITHA and MARKOWITZ, CHELSEA}, title = {{THE IMPACT OF THE SADC EPA ON SOUTH AFRICA’S AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-PROCESSING SECTORS}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Policy-Briefing-174.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }