Abstract
The decade to 2015 saw rapid growth in trade between Southern
African Development Community (SADC) countries. Much of this
growth reflected South African exports to its neighbours of
diversified manufactured goods to meet growing urban
consumption and to supply inputs to mining and infrastructure.
While most SADC countries, aside from South Africa, grew quite
rapidly over this period, their exports remained oriented to a
narrow range of minerals and agricultural commodities destined
to go outside the region. Drawing from a series of sectoral
studies, we assess key regional issues including the investment
and production decisions of firms whose operations stretch across
borders, and consider the implications for a bottom-up integration
agenda that could build productive capabilities across countries.
Our evaluation highlights the importance of the spread of
supermarkets, the need to address transport and logistics, and
value chains whose competitive advantages are inherently
regional, as in the cases of poultry and mining.