South Africa is working with partners to increase exports of wine and fruits to Russia, particularly the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals and the Pacific seaport of Vladivostok, Izvestia reported on Friday, citing an official from Pretoria’s embassy in Moscow.
The move is part of the African nation’s efforts to expand its market reach beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg, which are its current traditional trade destinations, Cecile Theresa Heppes, an adviser at the embassy’s political department, told the outlet.
“Our countries already have a very high level of political relations that go back many decades, but our trade relations and our trade performance are not at the level we would like them to be at. Both sides are working as closely as possible to increase trade,” she stated.
South Africa has emerged as one of Russia’s key political allies, particularly as a member of the BRICS bloc. However, the deficit in trade ties between the two countries has reportedly long been a source of concern for local businesses in Africa’s most advanced economy.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, exports from South Africa to Russia totaled US$282.77 million last year. Vladimir Padalko, vice president of Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has reportedly stated that the trade turnover between the two countries reached $1.2 billion in 2023. Pretoria’s main export to Russia had been citrus fruits, with its primary imports from Moscow being chemicals and fertilizers.
Egypt, which is now a member of the BRICS bloc alongside Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa – has remained Moscow’s leading trade partner in Africa. In December, Aleksey Tevanyan, Russia’s trade representative in the North African country, told RIA Novosti that trade flow between Moscow and Cairo surged by 30% year-on-year to over $6 billion in 2022.