'We Have to Reduce & Remove Barriers of Trade': SA's Standard Bank Official
14:24 10.05.2026 (Updated: 15:07 10.05.2026)
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'We Have to Reduce & Remove Those Barriers of Trade': SA's Standard Bank Official
South Africa has a highly developed commercial agriculture sector with a robust value chain, Louis Van Ravesteyn, Group Head of Agri-Business for Business and Commercial Banking, Standard Bank Group, told Sputnik Africa.
From inputs and primary farming to off-takers, processing, and value addition, the industry is well-established, he added.
"So, we believe that we can increase that. We can continue to contribute to that but we also want to encourage intra-Africa trade more."
There is a demand to grow crops not only for food security but also profitably, leveraging technological innovation and strong agreements within the SADC region, the speaker added.
"Those tariff agreements between us and SADC of what we export into the rest of the continent, interestingly, 90% of that is going to SADC countries."
South Africa, he stressed, has to focus on "the benefit of the BRICS relations becoming economic and profitable."
The bank also assists in trading with China, since it has reduced tariffs to zero, the speaker added.
Watch the video to learn how else the bank can support South African farmers
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
Sputnik Africa | X
South Africa has a highly developed commercial agriculture sector with a robust value chain, Louis Van Ravesteyn, Group Head of Agri-Business for Business and Commercial Banking, Standard Bank Group, told Sputnik Africa.
From inputs and primary farming to off-takers, processing, and value addition, the industry is well-established, he added.
"So, we believe that we can increase that. We can continue to contribute to that but we also want to encourage intra-Africa trade more."
There is a demand to grow crops not only for food security but also profitably, leveraging technological innovation and strong agreements within the SADC region, the speaker added.
"Those tariff agreements between us and SADC of what we export into the rest of the continent, interestingly, 90% of that is going to SADC countries."
South Africa, he stressed, has to focus on "the benefit of the BRICS relations becoming economic and profitable."
The bank also assists in trading with China, since it has reduced tariffs to zero, the speaker added.
Watch the video to learn how else the bank can support South African farmers
Subscribe to @sputnik_africa
Sputnik Africa | X
