Mr Senzeni Zokwana, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, will leave for India today for a four day trip to mark Indo-South African Week.
Minister Zokwana will meet his Indian counterpart, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and representatives of the Indian business community. Most especially, the trip will focus on increasing trade relations with a focus on increasing the contribution of agriculture, forestry and fisheries to the South African economy and the creation of jobs in the sectors.
Agriculture has been mandated to create a million jobs by 2030.
South Africa and India have a long history. Politically, India was a staunch supporter of the anti-apartheid struggle. South Africa and India established full diplomatic relations on 22 November 1993. Since then, there have been numerous visits by South African heads of State to India.
From a trade perspective, many of the shared objectives by South Africa and India are pursued through the India-Brazil-South Africa Forum as a manifestation of their commitment to South-South relations. In 2011, South Africa became a full member of the Brazil Russia India China and South Africa formation, BRICS.
Total trade between South Africa and India has increased over the past years, reaching R80.84 billion in 2013 from R36.87 billion in 2008. 80 percent of South Africa's agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports to India comprise of chemical wood pulp, wool, sugar cane and oranges. India is ranked 27th on the list of countries that import agriculture, forestry and fisheries products from South Africa. Agricultural exports contributed 36 percent to the total South-India agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
From 2009 to 2013, South Africa's forestry trade balance with India is positive. Forestry exports to India increased yearly for the past five years.
Minister Zokwana's trip will seek to intensify dialogue between India and South Africa to strengthen agriculture, forestry and fisheries relations.
The recent developments regarding citrus black spot (CBS) have cast a spotlight on the pressing need for South African producers to urgently meet over the decision to suspend most citrus fruits exports to the European Union pending completion of an urgent investigation into the reasons for ongoing detection of CBS.
The Minister will convene a meeting among stakeholders in the citrus sector upon his return from India. He will also put citrus on the agenda of the meeting with the intention of developing further markets for South African producers, particularly among BRICS countries.
Enquiries:
Palesa Mokomele
Tel: 012 319 7876 / 021 467 4502
Fax: 012 319 6681 / 021 465 6550
Cell: 082 904 1908
E-mail: PalesaM@daff.gov.za
