AgriSA worried about SA’s AGOA future
AgriSA on Friday expressed concern about South Africa’s the future participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
It comes amid the land confiscation claims made by US President Donald Trump.
AGOA is a US law that provides duty-free access to the US market for eligible sub-Saharan African countries, South Africa exports around $3 billion in agriculture.
AgriSA CEO Johann Kotzé said they are worried that the AGOA may be cancelled.
"AGOA plays a major role for us as exporters in South Africa, we need to go and have a look at other markets and America is a big market to us.
"When there's a possibility that AGOA might be cancelled, we are worried and specifically when you look at smaller industries with a big footprint in the Americas.
"So, it is a concern to us and it's a concern to us as farmers, for us exports, it's not a political issue, for us exports are a market issue, it's a free trade system.
"Any act that would determine an outcome that's negative to us at this stage is worrisome to us."
AgriSA has also moved to refute Trump's social media claim that South Africa is "confiscating land" and treating “certain classes of people badly”.
This follows the signing of the Expropriation Act last month.
Kotzé said it is not true that people's properties are being confiscated.
"The misinformation on social media is actually creating political turmoil and unnecessary tension for us as farmers in South Africa, and that's detrimental.
"And any misinformation puts a lot of emphasis on investors taking a greater risk into agriculture and that's the last thing you want to have.”
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