Botswana’s restrictive approach to agricultural trade is a symptom of a broader SACU challenge
I am among those who have been critical of Botswana’s approach to regional agricultural trade. The country frequently imposes bans on imports of South African fruits and vegetables to protect its domestic farmers. Such an approach would be understandable if we were not all part of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which, amongst other things, encourages free trade. These frequent non-tariff barriers disrupt the South African farming community and businesses and impose a cost burden on consumers in Botswana.
Still, one can sympathise with Botswana’s efforts to boost its food security by increasing domestic production and reducing reliance on South Africa. But a complete closure of the market at certain periods poses challenges in the SACU region and runs counter to the spirit of cooperation.
I think the approach Botswana should consider is through proper, effective coordination and communication with other countries in the SACU region, particularly South Africa. The regular blocking of products from other member countries in the customs union, without a national risk or disease threat, generally amounts to protectionism, which runs counter to the spirit of the customs union.
Instead of trade restrictions, we must consider collaboration in this region. The collaboration to support Botswana's ambitions for agricultural expansion would benefit from the resources and expertise of South African agribusinesses and commodity associations. There are already others on this path, such as the Citrus Growers Association, whose technology not only benefits South African farmers but also growers across the Southern African region. Agricultural input suppliers, machinery suppliers, and others would also join this approach and support agricultural activities more ambitiously. But when we encourage such steps, the path to fair trade must continue within the region, with the removal of bans on certain fruits and vegetables and a firm commitment to fewer interruptions to agriculture and food markets in our region.
South Africa’s agriculture has a lot at stake, as Botswana is an important trading partner. The country accounts for 6% of South Africa’s agricultural exports, which were valued at US$845 million in 2025. South Africa’s overall agricultural exports to the world market amounted to US$15.1 billion in 2025 (up 10% year-on-year).
The key products South Africa exported to Botswana in 2025 include maize, rice, sunflower oil, cider and other fermented beverages, sugar, fruit juices, beer, milk, oilcake, and ginger. The fruits and vegetables don’t feature prominently because Botswana has been implementing regular import bans since around 2021. Before that period, vegetables and fruits were prominent among exports to the region.
Beyond the Botswana-specific issues, another issue that South African policymakers should consider more is the review of SACU. This review is key to advancing South Africa’s approach to agricultural export diversification.
It is becoming clear that some countries may be reluctant to engage deeply with South Africa on trade due to SACU. To potential partners, the customs union often appears opaque and unpredictable. Many are interested in South Africa itself, not the wider region. Pretoria should therefore press for SACU reform while preserving the development programmes that provide social support to neighbouring states.
In today’s evolving global trade environment, countries must be agile in negotiating new agreements to sustain their economies. South Africa is on a path of export expansion, and when other countries see their interests aligned with South Africa’s, the government must be able to sign trade agreements.
But this is not always the reality. South Africa generally has to consult with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia, which are part of SACU. In the past, this practice worked well, as there was no urgency and most trade matters took years to be concluded.
Negotiating as a customs union also ensured that countries interacting with the region could access a slightly larger market. But the world has changed, and each country must put its interests first.
For South Africa, unlike other countries in the region, there are pressures in key markets such as the US and a need to expand export markets as the domestic industry increases output across various sectors of the economy.
Therefore, the pressure on South Africa’s policymakers and business leaders isn’t the same as in other countries in the region. Thus, South Africa must have the flexibility to move at its own pace in finalizing trade matters.
The modern version of trade arrangements in this region should allow countries to enter into bilateral trade agreements with various partners while maintaining low tariffs within the bloc.
Overall, as South African leaders engage with Botswana’s leadership in May 2026, these are some of the issues that should be on the agenda and are in the interest of the South African agricultural community.
--Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz). Email: wandile@agbiz.co.za and on X, at @WandileSihlobo