Supporting South African exporters

The document argues that increasing South African exports requires a dual focus on increasing the number of exporting firms and the volume each firm exports. It identifies that South African exporters are typically larger, more capital-intensive, and more productive than non-exporters, with a size threshold for successful export entry generally between 50 and 100 employees. High transport costs—specifically road transport and port charges—are cited as significant barriers to international competitiveness. The author recommends reducing these costs, encouraging firm growth to reach the necessary scale, and utilizing export processing zones (EPZs) to trial regulatory relaxations in labour and tax policy.

• South African exporting firms generally exhibit higher labour productivity, are larger, and are more capital-intensive than firms that do not export. Additionally, these firms are more likely to be owned by foreign entities.
• The gap in total factor productivity (TFP) between exporters and non-exporters varies by destination; firms exporting to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) show TFP levels similar to non-exporters, while those exporting outside SADC have higher TFP.
• High transport and port costs hinder the competitiveness of South African goods. Road transport costs are 12% higher than international best practice, and there is a 21% price gap between South African container shipping and international best practice due to local port policy.
• Firm size is a critical determinant of export participation, with a threshold for successful entry estimated between 50 and 100 employees. Consequently, policies targeting firms with fewer than 50 employees are considered ineffectual because such firms lack the scale to overcome sunk entry costs.
• Certain domestic regulations may discourage the growth of firms into the size required for exporting. Specifically, size-dependent redress policies, such as the Employment Equity Act, may increase costs and discourage export participation.
• The author suggests creating export processing zones (EPZs) to experiment with policies that could improve competitiveness, including simplifying company tax to a 'flat' tax and relaxing labour regulations and bargaining council coverage for low-skilled manufacturing.

APA

Rankin, N. (2011). Supporting South African exporters. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Policy-Briefing-32.pdf

Chicago

Rankin, Neil. Supporting South African exporters. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Policy-Briefing-32.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rankin |first1=Neil |title=Supporting South African exporters |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Policy-Briefing-32.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rankin2011supporting, author = {Rankin, Neil}, title = {{Supporting South African exporters}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Policy-Briefing-32.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }