Ronald

14 January 2026 – The US House of Representatives has passed a three-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), offering a potential lifeline for the US’s flagship trade initiative with the continent. The act – which provides African manufacturers in eligible countries with tariff-free access to the US market – was allowed […]

13 January 2026 – The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) has raised concerns about the growing trade imbalance between South Africa and its BRICS partners, warning that the bloc has delivered limited economic benefits in its current form. According to a recent article, South Africa’s trade deficit with its BRICS partners has widened

12 January 2026 – The world economy is in challenging territory as it enters 2026. While growth is losing momentum, inflation remains stubbornly high, and corporate insolvencies are rising. Political risks are increasing amid ongoing trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainty. Allianz Trade’s latest Economic Outlook report forecasts global GDP growth of 2.5% in 2026, down from 2.7% in 2025,

8 January 2026 – Ocean freight data at the end of 2025 crossed a projection threshold, exceeding a billion 20-foot containers moved. Sea intelligence platform Linerlytica has reported that about 400 million of TEU throughput was recorded by ports in China and Hong Kong. This milestone reflects overall resilience in global trade flows, even amid

7 January 2026 – Poor road and rail infrastructure and non-tariff barriers are stifling intra-African trade along its corridors, according to the United Nations’ 2024 Economic Development in Africa report. It says only Botswana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Libya, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa have “well-integrated” road networks. Numerous studies, which highlight transport infrastructure as a

6 January 2026 – Even though precious metals such as platinum were excluded from US trade tariffs and saw red-hot price gains last year, they contributed far less than expected to the value of South Africa’s exports in October, Statistics South Africa data shows. The value of South Africa’s exports rose in October 2025 even

19 December 2025 – The latest data from Stats SA on liquidations in South Africa shows that another 126 businesses were liquidated in November, taking the total to 1,434 for the year so far. The number of liquidations in November was down two cases from October, and down 1.6% from November 2024 (also 128 cases).

18 December 2025 – South Africa’s poultry industry is increasingly exposed to global trade politics, with renewed uncertainty around the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) compounding pressures from rising input costs, disease risks and weak consumer demand. In its annual report for the year to end-September, Astral Foods said uncertainty over Agoa and US

17 December 2025 – The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has reported that its Business Confidence Index (BCI) has improved significantly between September and November, from 121.1 to 132.3. The November BCI was also 14.2 index points higher than in November 2024. This follows the last notable large year-on-year increase of 17.1

15 December 2025 – As 2025 draws to a close, South Africa’s logistics sector finds itself at a familiar crossroads: real progress in some areas, stubborn blockages in others, and a nagging sense that the country is still paying dearly for years of neglect during the state capture era. The year delivered landmark deals, including