South Africa is preparing to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, from 22 to 24 October, with a focus on expanding its agricultural exports.
One of the country’s key objectives at the summit is to push for the reduction and elimination of trade tariffs between BRICS members, according to Pretoria News, a partner of TV BRICS.
Thabile Nkunjana, a senior economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council, emphasized that South Africa’s participation in the XVI BRICS+ Summit should be driven by the goal of expanding markets for agricultural exports, including Middle Eastern markets such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Of particular interest to South Africa are China and India, which are major importers of agricultural products. The products that these countries import are the same ones that South Africa exports.
South Africa is also looking for unused land where agriculture can be developed, with the creation of new jobs in the sector.
The recent inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as new BRICS members significantly expands the boundaries for South African agricultural exports. Closer relations with the association’s members are important for the country to maintain confidence and advance its trade policy.