Overview of Importing from South Africa
Importing from South Africa can be a solid and profitable business proposition as South Africa has a sophisticated and promising market, well developed economic infrastructure, many natural resources and emerging markets. As a sophisticated and growing market South Africa has a wide range of products to offer including fruits, nuts, vehicles, gems and precious metals. Being at the southern tip of Africa, South Africa is also perfect positioned to other countries and markets in Sub-Saharan Africa for those that want to make a visit to explore trade.
Below are the hottest products to export from South Africa, with large growth potential:
- South African Wine
- Fruits and Nuts
- Vehicles
- Gems and Precious Metals
- Clothing and Footwear
- Rubber
South Africa’s Exports Strong for 2024
South Africa is solidifying its position as a trade gateway to the world, with natural resources, growing markets and expanding sectors in agriculture, manufacturing and minerals. For importers looking for new opportunities, South Africa is a strong case.
In 2023, South Africa exported around $132 billion, making it the 36th largest exporter globally. Down from its peak of $143 billion in 2021, but long term export performance is strong, up 33% since 2016 when total exports were $98.8 billion. South Africa is resilient and diversified across many sectors, from precious metals and vehicles to agricultural produce and machinery.
Plus the South African Rand (ZAR) is still weak against the British Pound and other major currencies, making imports from South Africa cheaper for UK based and international buyers. This is another reason why South Africa is a great sourcing destination for competitive and high quality products.
With the right approach and supplier relationships, South Africa is a smart and scalable entry point into African markets and beyond.
If you’re looking for some ideas to import from South Africa and sell, here’s our 6 hottest ideas for 2023:
South African Wine
UK’s South African wine exports held strong in 2024
South Africa’s wines are held in very high esteem, exporting $532 million in 2024 but South Africa is not taking full advantage of this by exporting more wine to the rest of the world. With a weaker currency, South African wines are comparatively cheaper to those of other countries with stronger currencies.
The UK is the biggest export market for South African wine, accounting for 25% of all exports by value.
China, African countries, USA and Canada were among the strong performing export markets for South African wine outside the UK.
The growth South African wines in the USA with imports of packaged wines up 18% over the previous year. South Africa was the only new world country to see positive growth in this period.
Fruits and Nuts
South Africa exported $3.42 billion (approximately) in fruit and nuts in 2024.
Fresh fruit exports from South Africa gew by by double digits in 2024. The country exported more than four million tons of fresh fruit, when exports grew by 10%. In two years, South African fruit exports have grown from 3.3 to 4 million tons, demonstrating a strong upwards trend and demand for fruit and nuts from South Africa.
A third of South African fruit exports are destined for the EU27. The Netherlands is by far the most important South African fruit buyer, which is due to surpass more than 900,000 tons alone. That gives the Netherlands a 22% share of total South African fruit exports.
The UK market is in second place with 440,000 tons. The United Arab Emirates follows with 285,000 tons. Then it is Russia with 282,000 tons and China with 190,000 tons. Many countries buy South African fruit. No less than 45 countries took more than 10,000 tons. And 12 took more than 100,000 tons, including Bangladesh.
Vehicles
One of the key attributes to the growth of this industry in the last 13 years is government’s introduction of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) of 1995, boosting economic growth in this sector.
Total car shipments were 396,290, valued at $6.89 billion in 2024. The New Companies Act allows for the formation of different types of companies, providing a robust regulatory framework for businesses operating in South Africa.
One of the key attributes to the growth of this industry in the last 13 years is government’s introduction of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) of 1995, the United Kingdom is one of South Africa’s most lucrative exporting partner. It is crucial to have an import permit secured before the date of shipment to avoid penalties.
Different shipping methods for transporting cars include options related to shipping containers, such as shared container services and full container loads.
Gems and Precious Metals
South Africa has many natural resources and needless to say there is always a demand for diamonds and gold in western countries in particular and around the globe. The nations with the highest demand are Japan, USA, UK, Hong Kong, Germany, UAE and Belgium.
Gems, precious metals total goods sales hit US$19.59m in 2024.
Gems and precious metals showed the fastest economic growth among the top 10 export categories, up by 30.4% year over year since 2019 led by greater international sales of platinum and gold.
Whilst gems and precious metals could be a profitable venture, it’s important to understand what import and export control in South Africa there may be, required import permits and customs duty as these are likely controlled goods.
Clothing and Footwear
An attractive market with top trading partner countries to which South Africa Exports Textiles and Clothing include China, India, US and UK.
However, the US recently extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act to 2025, which saw $2 billion worth of duty-free apparel exports from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to the US, the largest growth potential was exporting within the continent. The US was the biggest market, focus on them along with Europe, where 75% of trade was within the EU and profits high.
Rubber
There is currently a growing realisation of the might that the African region has when it comes to rubber, where most countries still have massive unexploited areas highly conducive for natural rubber.
UK investors are increasingly recognizing South Africa’s potential as a gateway to Africa, underpinned by its robust economic infrastructure and the opportunities available within its emerging markets. This is likely to lead to the dawn of a new era of fresh investments without affecting the environment and interests of the local population. Rubber and oil palm plantations are likely to expand in Africa bringing further investment and a great opportunity to export rubber globally.
Many companies have been handling imports from South Africa to the UK for many years, showcasing their extensive experience in freight forwarding. They have expertise in various import categories, including vehicles and vintage cars, and their strong global network and local knowledge enhance their service offerings.
South African Customs Union
The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. This could be used as an advantage as there are much less import and export controls from these countries and likely no import permits required on an array of controlled goods.
How To Import From South Africa
4 Steps To Success
If you’re now thinking to get involved in the import export world, I highly recommend it! Below is my personal testimonial of my experience, working 35+ years in import export. I’ve met some many great people, enjoyed my travels around the world and the satisfaction of negotiating deals and moving products around the world has been fantastic.
If the ideas above have inspired you, I recommend you take the next three steps.
Step 1: Sourcing Your Products
Once you’ve decided on some products, you’ll have to source where to buy them. Finding sellers of your products is also half the fun. If you’re in a position to travel and explore, do it! It’s a great opportunity to expand your horizons. Not so easy in these times of a global pandemic but eventually we’ll be able to travel again.
If you can’t travel, there’s always Google, AliBaba and AliExpress. This can be a great place to start your venture and import goods. For more ideas and an much more in-depth look into sourcing products, check out our blog in sourcing products internationally.
Step 2: Finding Buyers
Perhaps the biggest question is inevitably, how do I find buyers for my products?
This is without doubt the most common question that I’m asked. Well, the good news is, there’s more than one way to do this. The bad news is, there’s no “easy” way. It’s all going to take some hard work and perseverance but it can most certainly be done and some good profits are no doubt waiting for you.
For my biggest hints and tips after a lifetime in commercial buying and selling check out our blog post on finding buyers.
Step 3: Understand the Basics
You’re going to need to understand at a minimum, the basics of import and export control, customs duty and perhaps import permits. Don’t jump in and start buying products, hoping to sell them by crossing your fingers. You’ll lose money, time and cause yourself a lot of stress.
To start, have a read of our blog post, How To Start an Import Export Business. It’s only the bare minimum but it will give you an idea of what you need to start thinking about and you’ll pick up some handy tips that I learned over the year.
Step 4: Import Export Training Courses Online
If you’re still sold on the idea of international trade, I can only advise you to educate yourself. It’s going to save you a lot of pain! Our online import export courses are taught with a series of pre-recorded videos so you can start any time, study at your own pace and there’s no deadline to complete.
Our courses teach you the practical knowledge you’ll need to know to trade successfully, confidently whilst maximising your profits understanding tariffs and what scams you should be aware of. Taught by Alan Bracken, with 40+ years of commercial experience in logistics, he skips all the theory you’ll never need to know but teaches you the practical side of how to move your goods around the world.
Check out our reviews on TrustPilot to see just how our courses have benefited our students.