Export Partnerships Remain Critical as Western Cape Government Targets 200,000 Jobs
Economic diplomacy, trade growth and tourism took centre stage at the 2nd Biannual Export Industry Dialogue in Cape Town Yesterday. Premier Alan Winde presented the keynote address, outlining the province’s export strategy.
“We know the challenges. The dialogue was about agreeing what we will do about them. Every shipment that leaves our province represents a livelihood for a family back home. That is why we are fiercely committed to economic diplomacy, to protect jobs and build a runway for 200,000 more,” said Premier Winde.
The Premier continued, “While we do not always have a mandate to delete obstacles to growth, we as a government will do everything in our power to clear blockages, and to minimise the impact of global disruptions.”
The dialogue brings together multiple stakeholders, providing a platform for constructive engagement centred on how to grow the province’s exports and strengthen coordination across the export ecosystem.
A key focus area was accelerating diversification of export markets across Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, and the Middle East. In a survey conducted before the engagement, 89% of export bodies surveyed cited high entry to market costs and tariffs as concerns, while more than 70% expressed worries about port efficiency.
The Western Cape Export Strategy 2035 provides a long-term roadmap. Among other targets, this strategy is aiming to generate R408 billion in exports for Cape Town, create more than 200 000 jobs from increased exports, and increase the number of active exporters by 1 000 by 2035.
The Premier added, “Our economy's strength is built on international partnerships. Where we encounter trade challenges, we remain committed to constructive economic diplomacy.”
The issue of the United States’ tariffs on South Africa remained a prominent point of conversation. In 2025, the Western Cape accounted for over 50% of South Africa’s total agriculture and agri-processing export goods to the United States. The province also holds a significant national share in exports of products such as seafood, yachts and vessels, jewellery, beauty products and vehicle engine components to the US.
However, between August 2025 and July 2026, South African exports to the United States declined by 16.2%.
What has become clear is that European countries have largely stepped into the gap left by the US tariffs. While this is a positive development for the Western Cape’s economy, these fledgling trade relationships may be jeopardised by the need to comply with growing European Union demand for decarbonized goods. As the Premier emphasised though, this is an area in which the Western Cape excels.
“We are ahead of our own targets for renewable energy generation,” said Premier Winde during his keynote address. “We can now realistically say that we might see some 50% of the Western Cape’s energy usage come from renewables within the next year. Projects like the newly inaugurated Riversdale Solar Plant and Helderhoop Solar and Storage Plant will not only result in cheaper, more environmentally friendly and reliable energy for our residents; they will also help our exporters to produce goods which comply with the growing global demand for carbon-neutral manufacturing, enhancing their competitiveness as a result.”
The Premier stressed the importance of resilience, and the Western Cape Government’s deep desire to do even better on jobs, and to remove blockages to the economic growth that creates them.
“We are doing well in our apex priority of creating jobs through economic growth – but we need to be doing better. We celebrate our employment rate of less than 20% because it is a victory relative to other provinces, but we must do everything we can to drive that rate down further. Dialogues like this one help us come together with the private sector to find the issues, fix them, and fix them quickly,” he concluded.
Media Enquiries:
Regan Thaw
Media Liaison Officer to the Premier
Cell: 083 627 7246
Email: Regan.Thaw@westerncape.gov.za
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