With global trade fragmenting, protectionism rising and markets turning inward, agriculture market diversification is not just a good idea, but a commercial imperative, FNB senior agriculture economist Paul Makube has said.

Speaking during a side event of the G20 Agriculture Ministerial Meeting on September 11, he said South Africa’s agricultural exporters were being encouraged to reposition their products into non-traditional markets to help improve trade resilience.

For Makube, the most immediate markets with potential for more exports from South Africa were China and other BRICS Plus nations, where tariff conditions were improving and demand for southern hemisphere produce was rising.

“We have already seen zero-tariff access for key commodities such as citrus, nuts and meat into China, and that can be a game changer for many farmers,” he pointed out.

He added that while India still posed high barriers, it was a massive and growing population coupled with a rising middle class, meaning it was a market worth cultivating.

“These are the places where the next decade of growth for South African agriculture will almost certainly come from.”

Makube also explained that market development in the agriculture sector was about playing the long game and that sustainable success was all about relationships, not transactions.

He advised producers and exporters to invest in long-term relationships now, even if it meant accepting tighter margins in the short term.

“It takes time to build networks in markets like China and the Middle East. You don’t just flip a switch. We recommend using this window to establish and strengthen those trade pathways.”

Moreover, with 44% of South Africa’s agricultural exports already going to the African continent, Makube said there was also great potential to deepen intra-Africa trade through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

He concluded that a diversified, modernised, more resilient and globally connected South African agricultural sector was possible and would be of huge benefit to all agriculture players in the country.