Don’t Stop Importing Because of the Poor Economy!
Between the South African economy being dumped into junk status, political upheaval and an official recession being declared (this list can go on forever) it’s clear to see that the South African economy is struggling. This will probably not change in the near future, as every day we watch the news and see more eventualities that will further negatively impact our South African economy. So how does this affect the import market? Should we keep importing products when the Rand is under so much pressure and a devastating economic downturn stares us in the face?
On a national level, international trade and importing goods represents a significant share of the South African gross domestic product (GDP). International trade has a significant economic, social, and political impact – not only in South Africa but worldwide. Imported goods provide us with access to goods and services from across the world. Without imports, we would be limited to only the goods and services within our borders.
Which Countries are We Importing From?
If we were hunters and gatherers that merely lived for our plate of food every day, going out into the field to gather enough to feed our family for today and maybe tomorrow, we wouldn’t need to be importing goods at all. But as the world slowly became a global village, the needs and wants of people changed. It’s no longer good enough to sit around a campfire at night, we want a voyeuristic view on other’s lives via our television sets. We don’t want to take a horse and carriage into town – we drive in our imported cars to shop for the latest conveniences that modern shops have on offer.
The Call to Stop Importing
The list of goods we import is endless. But with the economy struggling and the Rand reaching an all-time low, the outcries have come to stop importing goods and shop only local produce. In some cases organisations have gone as far as urging government to help stop the flow of goods from other countries.
While this may sound like it’s a worthwhile cause, stopping the import of goods that have become an integral part of our lives will not help the economy.
Let me show you an example. Lately our markets have been flooded by cheaper chicken portions, imported from other countries such as the U.S. This has meant a decrease in the price local chicken farmers have been able to get for their product. While one could reason that our farmers are an integral part of our economy and should be protected, you cannot look past the millions of South Africans that would have to go without chicken – and probably most proteins – if they had to pay the prices charged for locally produced chicken.
If we had to stop importing from overseas because of the poor performance of the Rand, it would have even more negative repercussions for us. It’s not only affordable food imports that will be affected; without importing the necessary engine parts that literally drive our economy, we would fall into a recession that our economy might never recover from.
If you are considering importing goods or produce, give us a call. We guarantee the lowest price on freight forwarding and Customs clearance in South Africa.