South Africa-India trade to exceed US$18B in 3 years

The South Africa-India bilateral trade, which has beensteadily growing, is expected to surpass the US$18-

“India-South Africa mutual trade has been growing at a rate faster than expected. We had targeted the trade to breach the US$15 billion mark by 2015 and by this year we have already reached USD$14.7 billion,” said S.C. Pradhan, senior economic advisor at the South African High Commission in New Delhi.

“We expect the trade to surpass US$18 billion mark by the next three years,” Pradhan said on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event here adding that the country was expecting Indian investment in sectors like mining among others. Meanwhile, a 17-member CII eastern region delegation has embarked on an 11-day mission to the African continent June 24 to explore investment opportunities in countries like South Africa, Zambia and Kenya, as well as attract investments from these countries.

Senior UAE government officials and more than 25 UAE companies are expected to visit the region to explore trade and investment opportunities. Statistics from the trade ministry indicate that Kenyan imports from the UAE exceeded exports by approximately US$630 million in 2012.