ESWATINI’S E3BN FUEL IMPORTS

MBABANE - Eswatini’s petroleum oil and fuel imports receipts currently stands at about E3 billion per annum. 

The country also import medicines and medical instruments worth over E500 million, agriculture and industrial chemicals worth E500 million, motor vehicles and parts worth E1.5 billion, cement products, bitumen and ash plant worth E400 million, maize/corn and wheat worth E850 million, woven fabric worth E1.1 billion and machinery and electric appliances worth E120 million. 

These are investment opportunities that Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said they are available in the country. 

The minister was speaking during the recently held virtual International Forum on African Leadership (IFAL 2020) themed, “Rethinking Global Partnership and Africa’s Economic Resurgence.” 

The forum brought together divergent views and thoughts of leading experts, academics, researchers, business and political leaders and key stakeholders to address the pathway to Africa’s resurgence. 

Competitiveness

The minister said though the country had a less population of about 1.1 million people, it draws its market competitiveness through various trade blocs. 

These include; the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa; Southern African Customs Union (SACU); African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA); Southern African Development Community (SADC); SADC-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement; SACU-European Free Trade Area; SACU-MERCOSOUR Preferential Trade Area; Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) with Taiwan; and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA).  

Khumalo said through the innovation park, the country is also looking to attract regional call centers, “that is happening, but we still have capacity and scope.”

Opportunities

He said there are also huge opportunities around business process outsourcing, software development, manufacturing and assembly of hardware ICT and light engineering components, medicinal products, cosmetics, bio-fuel, bio-fertilizer, pharmaceuticals and alternative medicines.

In agro-processing, the minister said there are opportunities to reduce the sale of agricultural products in raw form, increase milk production and dairy products, meat product processing, and opportunities in products that can be produced massively like tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, citrus and other fruits. 

When it comes to mining, the minister said the country has huge iron ore deposits, “we are still looking at how we can stop exporting raw iron ore and start beneficiation in-house.” 

Regarding coal, Khumalo said though coal is a declining industry, there is still a demand in certain parts of the world for coal. 

“We are extremely cautious that as a country we have to think of alternative sources of energy because we have been depending a lot from South Africa and we still import about 65 per cent of our energy from the Republic. 

We have set a target that we want to be energy independent by 2025 and that translates to more opportunities in the renewable energy space. We are encouraging private sector players to take of this opportunity,” he said.

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