South Africa in Intra-African Trade: Key Trends and Perspectives

The research is motivated by the extensive literature on the role of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in boosting intra-African trade. The main contribution of the research to the academic field is that the author comprehensively approaches the impact of the AfCFTA on a separate economy, whereas the majority of the papers on the issue has focused on general effects. We consider that South Africa holds an important position in regional trade and will significantly grow and diversify its exports to the rest of Africa, as tariff and non-tariff barriers are eventually relaxed or removed entirely. This study aims to estimate the trade potential for South Africa with the rest of the continent in the context of the upcoming AfCFTA. The research questions raised are: Are there any trade opportunities for South Africa in Africa? What are the potential markets in Africa which need policymakers’ attention as far as the African Continental Free Trade Area is concerned? The study evaluates trade potentials in two steps. First, existing trade flows between South Africa and its AfCFTA-partners are analyzed, and volume of exports and geographic distribution are surveyed. After that, indexes and trade indicators are computed to assess opportunities for South Africa’s exports in each country partner. The finding reveals that there are unexploited trade opportunities for South Africa on the continent. The four more effective options are Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco. Nevertheless, South Africa is more likely to pay attention to less remote countries with high trade complementarity. Among them, there are Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Togo, Senegal, Cape Verde and Burundi. So, when designing the national African Continental Free Trade Area strategy, as it is done, South Africa could prioritize the issue of those markets.

Cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott]: Exploring the Production, Health and Trade Potentials in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] also known as taro is regarded as an important staple crop in the Pacific Islands, Asia and Africa. But, Africa has been unpopular in the taro international market though it accounted for the highest share of the global taro production level in the last two decades. Therefore, this study explores the global taro production outlook in two decades (2000–2019) with a special focus on African countries noting their challenges and limitations. Also, industrial, nutritional and health benefits of taro were discussed to showcase other viable potentials of the crop beyond its usefulness as a food security crop on the African continent.

Oman’s Trade Potentials with Indian Ocean Rim Countries

Oman’s regional trade flow, especially with the Indian Ocean Rim countries, is examined within a gravity model framework. The analysis is based on the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation procedure. The findings show that Oman’s exports are strongly determined by the Indian Ocean Rim countries’ populations, gross domestic product, infrastructure, Oman’s trade policy and a common border and language. Distance is found to induce significant friction for Oman’s imports. We conclude that the Indian Ocean Rim countries are sources of active markets and provide opportunities for greater trade integration. In light of the dramatic decline in world oil prices in recent years, Oman also needs to reduce its reliance on oil earnings and intervene more aggressively in its domestic economy by diversifying its non-oil sector and concentrate more on non-oil led exports.