tralac and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) were invited to participate in the 53rd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA) that took place from 30 September-2 October 2015 in Parys, North West Province, South Africa.

On Wednesday 30 September tralac and the NAMC presented a session titled ‘South Africa’s Way Ahead: New, Old or Close Friends’. The aim of the session was to explore South Africa’s trading relationships with old (United States and European Union), new (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and good (the rest of Africa) friends and the importance of maintaining these trading relationships. The focus of the session was on:

• An overview of South Africa’s agricultural trading performance in the context of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the broader African context.

• The opportunities and challenges related to the historical importance of the United States and the European Union as important destination markets for South African exports.

• The opportunities and challenges posed by Brazil, Russia, India and China for South Africa’s agricultural trade performance.

• An analysis of the important non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that impact agricultural trade and the mechanisms used to resolve these barriers.

• Case study analyses of South Africa’s agricultural exports of grains, fruit, fruit juice and nuts to African and global export destinations.