SA counts the costs of veggie import bans
Saturday, May 11, 2024 | 1190 Views |
High demand: The vegetable import ban has been extended to December 2025
South African agricultural economists estimate that the value of the country’s vegetable exports to Botswana dropped by 55% in 2022, the first year of the partial horticultural import ban imposed by Gaborone to boost local production.
The figures released recently are the first indication of the impact of the import ban effected in January 2022 by government.
That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...