Mmegi

SA counts the costs of veggie import bans

High demand: The vegetable import ban has been extended to December 2025
High demand: The vegetable import ban has been extended to December 2025

South Africa’s vegetable exports to Botswana dropped 55% in value in the first year of the import ban imposed by Gaborone. With other SACU states considering similar moves, the region’s “minnows” are forcing a shakeup, writes MBONGENI MGUNI

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.

Editor's Comment
Let’s fight GBV as a collective

Botswana for the longest time was known for her virulent peace with family being an enviable institution.As the media, we are also scared to be incessantly reporting on these bloody scenes where women are brutally murdered and worse, sometimes in front of their children and loved ones. Yes, we have reported cases where men were also brutally murdered by their loved ones, but such cases are a drop in the ocean.For the past two weeks, Botswana was...

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