The implications of the African Continental Free Trade Area on South African agricultural trade: An application of the partial equilibrium mode

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The implications of the African Continental Free Trade Area on South African agricultural trade: An application of the partial equilibrium mode
 
Creator Seti, Thembalethu M. Daw, Olebogeng D.
 
Subject F13; F15; F17 African Continental Free Trade Area; trade liberalisation; SMART partial equilibrium model; regional integration; tariff; export performance
Description Background: The African Continental Free Trade Area is currently a negotiated agreement that comprises 54 African countries and aims at eliminating trade barriers between its member states. Advocates of the Free Trade Area point to the numerous benefits of the agreement, though less has been said about the potential implications on economic strategic sectors such as the agricultural sector.Aim: The study explores the potential economic impact of a full tariff liberalisation as proposed under the African continental Free Trade Area on South African agricultural trade.Setting: A 100% tariff cut on agricultural commodities was simulated among all 54 members of the African Continental Free Trade Area.Methods: The study adopts the SMART partial equilibrium model to simulate the potential impact of a full tariff liberalisation as proposed under the African Continental Free Trade Area on South African agricultural trade.Results: The simulation revealed that South Africa will gain a total trade value of approximately US$199 million, and the total trade diversion from third parties will stand at US$42 million. South African agricultural commodities with the greatest export potential to the African market include sugar cane, maize, citrus fruit, cigarettes and sauces. Industries that are vulnerable to the free trade area include dairy, poultry, and vegetables. The full tariff liberalisation is projected to decrease South African’s export revenue.Conclusion: The study recommends that South African infant industries that are vulnerable to the agreement be listed in an exclusive list and that government should enhance the competitiveness of the affected industries.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor
Date 2022-05-25
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajems.v25i1.4302
 
Source South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences; Vol 25, No 1 (2022); 11 pages 2222-3436 1015-8812
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4302/2511 https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4302/2512 https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4302/2513 https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems/article/view/4302/2514
 
Coverage South Africa — F13; F15; F17
Rights Copyright (c) 2022 Thembalethu M. Seti, Olebogeng D. Daw https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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