Urgent steps will be taken to halt the loss of revenue and to safeguard jobs after reports that the economy is missing out on billions as many exporters continue to pay full UK duties on goods that should qualify for tariff-free access under an existing trade deal, agriculture minister John Steenhuisen said.
Business Day reported £40m (R951m) in SA white wine and £18m in fruit and nut exports paid full UK duties in 2024, in breach of the Sacu member states and Mozambique (SACUM) and UK economic partnership agreement (EPA).
These figures were revealed at a seminar held by the department of trade, industry & competition and the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the British high commission last week.
The EPA allows for duty- and quota-free access for most SA goods into the UK market, provided rules of origin and documentation requirements are met.
“In a jobs bloodbath, every rand we needlessly leave on the table is one fewer job on a farm, in a packhouse or along the cold chain,” Steenhuisen said in a statement issued on Friday. “Where our producers meet the agreement’s requirements, preferences cannot be arbitrarily ignored, reinterpreted or withheld at the border. We will fix what is on our side and insist that our trading partners honour what is on theirs.”
The UK is SA’s second-largest agricultural export market, and the loss of preferential access has compounded economic pressures already facing the sector, particularly in light of steep new US tariffs on SA goods.
UK officials have said they are keen to understand why qualifying consignments are still being charged tariffs, while the department of trade has acknowledged the problem and said it is working with its British counterparts to resolve it.
Steenhuisen said he would seek engagements with international relations minister Ronald Lamola and trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau to co-ordinate a cross-government response focused on agriculture.
The department of agriculture will also convene the relevant departments and agencies to formulate a practical plan focused on increasing the use of UK trade preferences across priority agri-sectors such as wine, fruit and nuts, and other eligible goods.
The department will introduce a single “front door” system to escalate and resolve export problems, work with industry bodies to provide plain language guidance on origin rules and paperwork, assist exporters and freight agents to improve the accuracy of preference claims, and consider publishing a monthly utilisation dashboard to highlight gaps and to track progress.
The minister called for urgent technical talks with UK authorities to resolve operational hurdles, including origin documentation problems, systems glitches and a lack of transparency on rejections. “Our message to producers is simple: if you comply with the rules, you should get the preference. And our message to partners in London is clear: SA values the relationship and expects the agreement to be applied as signed,” Steenhuisen said.
“We cannot afford self-inflicted losses in markets where we already have duty-free access. Farmers and agri-exporters must not be punished by administrative drift.”
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