Farmers lobby for improved access to EU

South African agricultural groups are lobbying to rectify the highly skewed trade relationship with the European Union; they are looking for improved market access for a number of products including wine, sugar and canned fruit.

Under the present trade agreement with the EU, the Trade and Development Co-operation Agreement (TDCA), SA opened 81% of its agricultural market to EU imports, while the EU opened up 61% of its market.

By 2012, SA will retain protection on just 108 agricultural product lines, while the EU will enjoy protection on 615 lines.

A new economic partnership agreement (EPA) is under negotiation and will replace the TDCA when it is finalised, possibly later this year. Various local agricultural interest groups are lobbying EU and South African legislators for a better deal under the EPA. The EU is a key export market for South African agricultural exports.

The inclusion of sugar on SA's request list for better access has ruffled a few feathers. In the past, SA has not lobbied for improved sugar access to the EU, as a quota for SA exports of raw sugar would have had a negative impact on the exports of countries like Swaziland, Mozambique and Mauritius. This is because sugar is a much more significant contributor to those economies.

However, reforms in the EU sugar market have increased the demand for imports and led to the abolition of quotas, though regional thresholds and safeguard measures have been introduced for countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and least-developed countries.

Rudi Richards, chairman of the South African Fruit and Vegetable Canners Association, said duty-free, quota-free access to the EU would allow investment and employment in the R1.5-billion export industry to grow, and make for innovation.