17 Apr 2019

India continues to be an important trading partner for the South African Development Community (SADC).

The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding in October 1997 in areas of cooperation that included agriculture, water resources management, human resources development, entrepreneurial development as well as the non-conventional energy sources.

Cooperation also extends to communications, commerce, banking and diplomacy, and enterprises development through private sector involvement.

The agreement was further enhanced during the First India-SADC Forum held in Namibia in 2006 focusing in cooperation in trade, industry, finance and investment, ICT, food, agriculture and pharmaceuticals, and water resources management.

According to a report published by the Export-Import Bank of India, trade between the two parties increased significantly between 2008 and 2017, with India’s total trade with SADC countries leaping from US$13.7 billion to US$25.5 billion.

Information from the report shows that for 10 years, from 2008 to 2017, the amount of trade has been favourable for the Southern African regional block.

It is stated that during the period, India’s total exports to SADC have risen from US$6.3 billion to $9.1 billion and the imports have also more than doubled, from $7.5 billion to $16.4 billion.

The EXIM Bank report states that the trade balance has been in favour of SADC, with India’s trade deficit with SADC widening from $1.2 billion in 2008 to $7.3 billion in 2017.

India accounted for 5.4 per cent of SADC’s global imports and around 7.3 per cent of the region’s total exports in 2017.

Mineral fuels and pharmaceutical products have dominated India’s exports to SADC, accounting for 46.7 per cent, but there has been a change as pharmaceutical products more than doubled while that of mineral fuels declined during the last 10 years.

India also exports vehicles, machinery and equipment, and plastic. 

The highly industrialised South Africa is India’s largest export destination, accounting for around 44.9 per cent of India’s total exports, followed by Tanzania, Mozambique and Mauritius. ENDS