The Western Cape is increasingly looking to the Americas to grow its export market.
According to Ruby Swigelaar, international trade manager for the Americas at Wesgro, the official provincial tourism, trade and investment agency, North America is a particular focus.
“Its global imports in 2016 were $1.5 trillion,” said Swigelaar. “Their top markets for imports are China, Mexico and Canada. We have been working closely in this market and we believe that we can increase the number of Western Cape products moving to North America significantly.”
She said value-added products in the food and beverage sector – core strengths of the Western Cape export market – were highly sought after in the US.