Supporting South African exporters

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the drivers of export participation for South African firms. It argues that increasing aggregate exports requires a dual focus on increasing the number of exporting firms and increasing the volume exported by existing firms. The author highlights that South African exporters are typically larger, more capital-intensive, and more productive than non-exporters, and identifies high transport costs and firm size as primary barriers to entry for new exporters.

• South African exporting firms generally exhibit higher levels of 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 in South Africa 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 levels.
• High transport costs significantly hinder the competitiveness of South African products. Specifically, 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 for export participation, with a threshold for successful entry estimated between 50 and 100 employees. Firms below this size typically lack the scale to overcome the sunk costs associated with entering export markets.
• The author recommends the creation of export processing zones (EPZs) to trial policy experiments regarding labour costs, bargaining council coverage, labour regulations, company tax, and port costs before implementing them nationwide.
• Certain size-dependent policies, such as the Employment Equity Act, may inadvertently discourage firm growth and export participation by increasing costs for firms as they reach the size necessary to export.
• Exchange rate manipulation is viewed as an unlikely tool for increasing the number of exporting firms; the author suggests that monetary policy stability is a more effective goal.

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} }