Agragex and Icex coordinate both trade missions
The agricultural machinery industry Spanish bid by South African and Angolan market
Drafting Interempresas18/05/2011
May 18, 2011
Spanish agricultural machinery industry has stepped up its actions of foreign promotion to make their way in South Africa and Angola, destinations of special relevance for the exports of the products and the national technology. With this objective, the Spanish Fabricantes-Exportadores grouping of agricultural machinery and its components, systems of irrigation, livestock equipment and post-harvest (
Agragex), with the collaboration of the Spanish Institute of foreign trade (ICEX) has organized a trade mission to South Africa and Angola.
A round of interviews and meetings with leaders from the Administration and entrepreneurs to seek new business opportunities and increase exports of agricultural machinery is included in the agenda of visits provided for in this mission.
During the stay in South Africa, the representatives of the trade mission attending the Namp'o Harvest Day fair, held from 17 to 20 may in the town of Bothaville. This event, one of the most relevant in the area, had 650 exhibitors and more than 68,000 visitors in its latest edition.
The agricultural market of South Africa: a growth sector
The prospects for growth in the agricultural industry of South Africa led Agragex to intensify advocacy efforts in this country, with the main objective of open new avenues of business Spanish agricultural machinery companies.
South Africa is the first African economy, with 25% of the combined GDP of the continent. The country has an emerging agricultural sector, which accounts for 12% of GDP and employing, directly or indirectly, to about 8.5 million people. Approximately 12% of the land area is suitable for crop production and it is estimated that 1.3 million hectares have irrigation systems, about 1.5% of the total agricultural land. Of these, the income for horticultural crops, fruits and vegetables grew 4.7%. They joined the livestock sector, which grew also mainly driven by the poultry sector.
South Africa has an emerging agricultural sector, which accounts for 12% of GDP and employing, directly or indirectly, to about 8.5 million people
Photo: Gavin Kerigan.
Currently, the development of large and small farms in the country has been accompanied by a policy of impetus to the sector, as regional governments are investing in the meat industry, among others these include the program of the Limpopo province, South Africa, where the Administration has announced that EUR 40 million will be allocated to support rural infrastructure in the province and to help farmers and ranchers meat.
In addition, the local Government will participate financially in various irrigation projects, which will also assist in the development of the production of meat. The loans will come from government programmes aimed at the revitalization of the network of drainage in the rural areas and agriculture.
Angola: a plan of agriculture to encourage the growth of the sector
In the Sub-Saharan area, Angola is one of the countries with the greatest economic potential of Africa. The main source of employment in the country is the agricultural sector, in which they work around 4.7 million people, representing 63% of the population.
The Government of Angola has launched the agricultural biennial Plan 2010-2011, which is intended to adopt a series of measures to strengthen this sector. While the current economic situation, marked by the crisis, has slowed down this plan, the objective is to continue increasing areas of cultivation in the coming years.
For this reason, a growth in imports of agricultural machinery and irrigation is expected to help optimise work processes. In this context, the Spanish agricultural machinery sector has an opportunity to expand its sales and exports to this market.
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