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Preview of Agoa · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's look at this big day for South Africa and
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: our economy on Monday as the United States makes a
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: decision as to whether we continue benefiting from the African
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Growth and Opportunity Act. preferential access to US markets for vehicles,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: for agricultural produce, and some other things as well. So
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: what are they likely to decide? Well, I'm not sure
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: we know. What we do need to know, though, is
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: I'm sure South Africa's leaders in various business sectors have
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: prepared for a yes, a no, and I don't know
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: if there's a maybe or something conditional in the middle.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: But let's get perspective on our agricultural economy and welcome
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: to the show, Johan Kotsa, who's CEO of AgriSA.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Kotsa, welcome and thanks very much for your time. Let's
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: get this out of the way immediately. I mean, do
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: you have any inkling at all as to what the
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Americans might decide? Good afternoon to you.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Hello, John. Always nice to be on your show. John,
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the answer is a yes and a no. None of
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: us have even an expectation. You know, we're always full
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: of hope as farmers, so we expect a yes. But
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: I can't say with any certainty that's going to be
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: a yes or a no.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Let's set the scene then and ask to what degree
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: and in what particular ways South African agriculture has over
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the years benefited from AGOA.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the main thing is it's one of
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: the direct lines where we as farmers in the most
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: rural areas are not getting an incentive. There's no, I
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: would say, grant or anything. It's just an open market
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: without any obstacles. Obstacles means any kind of scheme against us.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: For years, this meant a lot to us in the
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: far rural areas because that is mainly where it is.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: If you have a look at Citrus, it's Northern Cape,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: the northern side of the Western Cape, the Tengkeru. So
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: it meant a lot to smaller industries and specifically very
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: rural places. So as South African agriculture, I think the
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: most that it meant to us is it opened up,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: I would say, the possibility of growing our exports into America,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: and that's what you want.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: I would imagine that part of the kind of getting
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: match fit for a possible no would have been as
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: soon as the new tariff arrangements, contradictory and confusing as
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: they might have been coming out of the United States,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: were earlier this year. And I think we've had conversations
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: where you've said, listen, you've always got to be on
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: the lookout for new markets, for developing opportunities. I mean,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: how's that gone over 2026? I know that we've gained
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: some access in China, but overall?
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what? So first, let's go back to America.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: The most important thing is for the first time in years,
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: we had conversation and we negotiated. Yes. I could remember
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: last year when we went over to America to go negotiate,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: there were no negotiations. So a plus point to our minister,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Tao Parks. I think it's fantastic that we had the conversation,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: even though it was difficult. And then the other markets,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: and I think it started with Minister John Stierneisen and
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Minister Willi Oukamp is also pushing as hard as they
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: can to open up new markets, but also to go
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: into existing markets and kind of refresh new applications that
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: we have. So, John... America is one of the most
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: important places to be because they like our food, they
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: eat what we produce, and we account the season with them.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: And we will always fight to be in that market
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: and always try our uttermost to say, can we open
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: up that market? However, we have other markets also. And
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: I think what opened up through all the tariffs that
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: we had last year is to say, but you need
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: to secure your own markets. And you need to go
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: back to the established markets and then also go and
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: query the markets where we make peace with all the tariffs.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: and see if we can renegotiate free trade agreements. And
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: that happened. And I think that's the positive about what
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: happened with Ogoa. So it would be sad for us
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: if we lose it. But remember, we were at 30%
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: at one stage. We're back at 12.5%. Yes. And there's
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: many ways to skin a cat. But the best way
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: is to say we have a free agreement. And I
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: think the beautiful part is we negotiated with America.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: And our people stood our stance. So some of the
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: stuff is difficult to negotiate from the various, I would say,
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: biosecurity issues that we deal with and they want to
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: kind of relax. And I think we stood our stance,
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: which is good. However, in saying that, it's not, listen,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: we kind of stick our tongue out and say, we're
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: going to do our own thing. We want to have
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: that market and we are playing in that market. If
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: you think of leaches, 30% of the exports of leaches
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: is going to America. So it has an effect on us.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: So we need to fight and we need to protect
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: and we need to kind of negotiate the market that
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: we want to have.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: And let me ask you this. I mean, the world
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: keeps throwing up all these different scenarios, the fuel price
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: and so on. My understanding is that we were growing
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: nicely in that part of the world in the Gulf
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: states that is now affected by the conflict between U.S.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: and Israel on the one hand and Iran and others
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: on the other. Was that a gain that we have
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: not been able to maximize because of the war?
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, and again, you know what it shows?
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: You need to be diversified in wherever you market. Yes.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: And I think the difficulty is some of the produce
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: we have is very prone to specific markets. But again,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: it's harsh to say, but the wake-up call came when
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: we had this data issue of 30%. And all of
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: a sudden, we kind of questioned our own markets and
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: our own strategies. So if you take the war that
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: we have in Europe, It's a difficult one for us,
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: and I think the most difficult part is production costs
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: going up. Remember, people still need to eat. That's the
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: beautiful part of our produce in South Africa. We feed
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: into the world where there's a massive demand. You can't
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: stop it. You can stop to use fuel by not
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: driving anymore, but you can't stop eating. And that market,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: even though it's difficult, John, It stays open. And remember,
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: it is as difficult for the people who exported from
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: South Africa as for us losing that market. So the
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: fight is in both countries to keep open the market. Yes, absolutely. Yeah,
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: and the other thing is, you know what? They made plans.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: They started to negotiate. So even inside America, there's a
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: very pro for a GOA or if it's not a GOA,
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: a free trade agreement to have our produce. And John,
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: you know what makes me proud as a farmer being
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: South African? There's a need for our produce. So you
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: know what? We're producing world-class produce. And the world wants that.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: It's difficult in the time that we deal now with
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: specifically with this. But isn't that amazing that there's a demand?
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: We could have sat here with whatever we produce with
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: no market and no demand. And there is a demand.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: So difficult times, John. But you know what? Positive. And
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: looking into a future that's different. Maybe different than what
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: we had in the past. And we need to negotiate.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: And that's the most positive part of me is that
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: South Africa took part in the negotiations.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Johan Kotsa. Optimistic as always, CEO
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: of AgriSA. Big day, as I said, on Monday, in
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: which we find out, at which when we get to
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: find out whether we're going to benefit from the African
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Growth and Opportunity Act or not.