Ramaphosa's Saudi deals could see massive jump in agri exports

With a domestic market of nearly 35 million people - and an additional 9 million pilgrims a year for Hajj and Umrah - Saudi Arabia is ripe for South African agricultural exports, industry members have said. 

This comes after a recent state visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the kingdom, where various memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed. Modelling by government sees South Africa potentially tripling its exports to the Saudi Arabian market.

Fruit manager at the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) Wolfe Braude - who was part of the delegation that saw a series of deals signed - says South Africa is ideally placed to take advantage of the opportunity, particularly given the large number of visitors to Saudi Arabia.