REGIONAL VALUE CHAINS: EXPLORING LINKAGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AGRO-PROCESSING SECTOR ACROSS FIVE SADC COUNTRIES

The report argues that SADC countries can reduce processed food trade deficits and mitigate climate change risks by shifting from national industrial policies to regional value chains (RVCs). It identifies a significant opportunity for Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique to replace South Africa's deep-sea soya oilcake imports with regional production. However, it notes that the sugar sector is hindered by protectionist policies and the market power of dominant firms, which keep industrial sugar prices high and stifle downstream confectionery processing. The author proposes practical interventions, including a regional transportation information system to solve 'backhaul' constraints and the harmonisation of quality standards to facilitate intra-regional trade.

• SADC countries face a persistent trade deficit in processed foods, particularly in wheat, rice, and palm oil, despite having the potential for greater agricultural production.
• Climate change increases rainfall variability across SADC, but regional value chains can mitigate these risks because droughts in southern areas (like South Africa) often coincide with good rains in northern areas (like Zambia and Tanzania).
• South Africa relies heavily on deep-sea imports for soya oilcake to support its poultry sector, creating an opportunity for regional producers in Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique to replace these imports.
• Zambia has seen rapid growth in soybean production, with a compound annual growth rate of 24.5% between 2004 and 2014, and it has become the second-largest exporter of oilcake in SADC as of 2015.
• The sugar confectionery sector in SADC is underdeveloped due to protectionist policies and high industrial sugar prices, particularly in Zambia, where a mandatory Vitamin A fortification requirement acts as a non-tariff barrier to protect the dominant producer, Zambia Sugar.
• High transport costs between Zambia and South Africa are inflated by 'uni-directional trade,' where trucks return empty; implementing a backhaul system could reduce costs from approximately $110/tonne to $40-$50/tonne.
• Smallholder farmers in Tanzania and Zambia are constrained by a lack of access to affordable fertilisers, mechanical harvesting equipment, and reliable storage, which forces them to sell produce at low prices immediately after harvest.
• Mauritius has established a successful processed fish value chain and could potentially replace its deep-sea frozen fish imports from Europe and China with regional imports from South Africa and Mozambique.
• National and regional industrial policies in SADC have failed to meaningfully incorporate the effects of climate change, often treating it as an 'add-on' rather than a central industrial challenge.

APA

Paremoer, T. (2018). REGIONAL VALUE CHAINS: EXPLORING LINKAGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AGRO-PROCESSING SECTOR ACROSS FIVE SADC COUNTRIES. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EXPLORINGLINKAGESANDOPPORTUNITIESINTHEAGRO-PROCESSINGSECTORACROSSFIVESADCCOUNTRIES1.pdf

Chicago

Paremoer, Tamara. REGIONAL VALUE CHAINS: EXPLORING LINKAGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AGRO-PROCESSING SECTOR ACROSS FIVE SADC COUNTRIES. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EXPLORINGLINKAGESANDOPPORTUNITIESINTHEAGRO-PROCESSINGSECTORACROSSFIVESADCCOUNTRIES1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Paremoer |first1=Tamara |title=REGIONAL VALUE CHAINS: EXPLORING LINKAGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AGRO-PROCESSING SECTOR ACROSS FIVE SADC COUNTRIES |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EXPLORINGLINKAGESANDOPPORTUNITIESINTHEAGRO-PROCESSINGSECTORACROSSFIVESADCCOUNTRIES1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{paremoer2018regional, author = {Paremoer, Tamara}, title = {{REGIONAL VALUE CHAINS: EXPLORING LINKAGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AGRO-PROCESSING SECTOR ACROSS FIVE SADC COUNTRIES}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EXPLORINGLINKAGESANDOPPORTUNITIESINTHEAGRO-PROCESSINGSECTORACROSSFIVESADCCOUNTRIES1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }