FU Donald – We are off to Angola

Executive Mayor Cllr Babalwa Lobishe is leading a high-level delegation from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) on a strategic business tour to Luanda, Angola. The delegation includes the Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, Cllr Bassie Kamana, senior municipal officials, Acting ED for EDTA Mr Wandisile Makwabe, Acting COO Adv. Ngoqo, and Acting ED for Infrastructure & Engineering Mr Joseph Tsatsire.

Responding to an invitation from the Angolan Consulate, the visit aims to deepen cooperation in key sectors including: Trade and investment, Agriculture and agro-processing, Renewable energy, Power infrastructure, Tourism development and Urban planning and engineering.

The NMBM delegation, joined by South African business leaders, was warmly received by the Governor of Huambo, H.E. Engineer Pereira Alfredo, with facilitation by H.E. Ambassador Elsa Caposso Vicente, Consul General of Angola.

According to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, this engagement underscores NMBM’s commitment to forging strategic African partnerships, promoting sustainable urban development, and unlocking mutually beneficial economic opportunities for the region.

Angola represents the second largest market for South African agricultural exports in Africa, these include: beverages (highest), vegetables, sugars, cereals and tobacco.

Over the past five years, trade between South Africa and Angola has shown some fluctuations but generally a downward trend in export values with variations in imports and trade balance. The export value decreased at an annualized rate of about 5.97%, from approximately $630 million in 2017 to about $463 million in 2022. In 2024, South Africa’s exports to Angola were around $370 million.

An internet search is frustrating as it would appear that there is no specific data available that directly details the exact amount of imports from Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, to Angola.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Exporters EC site mentions Angola once: https://www.exportersec.co.za/?p=8109

The Nelson Mandela Bay Chamber of Commerce web site mentions Angola three times: https://www.nmbbusinesschamber.co.za/content/#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Angola&gsc.page=1

Both of the above do not have definitive publicly available data on which Nelson Mandela Bay companies export to Angola.

According to Quintin Levy from Exporters EC; “South Africa and Angola have also recently elevated their structured bilateral relationship from a Joint Commission of Cooperation to a Bi-National Commission (BNC). This strategic move signifies a deepened commitment to cooperation across trade, investment, and regional integration.

Angola is not currently a major tourism or trading partner for NMB, however both nations aim to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to boost intra-African trade and industrialisation.

In terms of exports, NMB exports to Angola were valued at R203 million in 2024 (2023: R120 million). We don’t have a breakdown of the product categories though.”

Levy also confirmed that Exporters EC were not invited on the trip.

I asked on Facebook for anyone who had exported to Angola from Nelson Mandela Bay and Mark Stemmett from Microcare Energy – manufacturers of inverters, solar charge controllers, geyser controllers, solar pumping  and EV Charging stations – responded saying that they do export to Angola.

I asked THREE communication specialists from Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Communications to confirm which people from organised business were accompanying the Mayor (using Exporters EC as an example) as well as a list of products and or firms that export to Angola. At the time of publication they were still passing the ball amongst themselves.

Nelson Mandela Bay is recognised as a significant contributor to South Africa’s exports, particularly in the automotive sector. However, without granular data isolating Nelson Mandela Bay’s specific contribution to South Africa’s exports to Angola, an exact figure is full of conjecture. Major exports from the region include motor vehicle components, pharmaceuticals, and food products, which align with Angola’s import needs.

According to Trading Economics: While specific product volumes exported directly from Gqeberha to Angola are not detailed in recent data, South African exports to Angola in 2024 totaled about US$369.72 million and included key categories such as machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers ($87.22M), electrical and electronic equipment ($26.42M), plastics, vehicles (excluding rail), iron and steel articles, mineral fuels and oils, optical and medical apparatus, and cosmetics. No precise breakdown of export volumes specifically from Gqeberha to Angola was found, but the regional trade framework and the types of goods exported from South Africa to Angola provide a clear picture of the trade composition.

The Sundays River Valley (not part of Nelson Mandela Bay but the fruit probably passes through our ports) exports small values of fruit to Angola. Data from 2024 shows Angola’s imports from South Africa of edible fruits including citrus were minimal (around $100k total), suggesting little reverse trade in citrus between Angola and South Africa.

Let’s say that the delegation consists of 12 people:

• Flights: 12 x R15000 = R180 000
• Accommodation for two nights: 12 x R5000 = R60 000
• Travel Allowances: 12 x R2000 = R24 000

So, just the essentials will cost R264 000

The very difficult mathematics problem is this one then: Of the R203 Million in exports to Angola from NMB, how much of that amount is profit, how many employees, where is the turnover spent – in Nelson Mandela Bay or repatriated to some head office out of our area.

So lets say that 10% of that R203 Million stays in Nelson Mandela Bay. That would mean that our Mayor needs to come back with an order of at least R2.64 Million to justify her trip (based on an expense of R264 000) and that needs to recur annually in order to justify the expense.

Breakdown of Angolan Imports from South Africa:

• Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers – $129.46M
• Electrical, electronic equipment – $44.91M
• Vehicles other than railway, tramway – $30.16M
• Articles of iron or steel – $23.60M
• Plastics – $21.00M
• Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products – $19.51M
• Beverages, spirits and vinegar – $14.92M
• Optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus – $13.75M
• Miscellaneous chemical products – $10.59M
• Milling products, malt, starches, inlin, wheat gluten – $10.28M
• Rubbers – $10.27M
• Miscellaneous edible preparations – $9.84M
• Essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics, toileteries – $9.55M
• Fertilizers – $8.19M
• Tanning, dyeing extracts, tannins, derivatives, pigments – $8.12M
• Miscellaneous articles of base metal – $7.21M
• Organic chemicals – $6.99M
• Edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit, melons – $6.75M
• Iron and steel – $5.97M
• Meat and edible meat offal – $5.04M
• Articles of apparel, knit or crocheted – $4.97M
• Paper and paperboard, articles of pulp, paper and board – $4.88M
• Furniture, lighting signs, prefabricated buildings – $4.64M
• Printed books, newspapers, pictures – $4.06M
• Cereal, flour, starch, milk preparations and products – $3.71M
• Inorganic chemicals, precious metal compound, isotope – $3.53M
• Footwear, gaiters and the like, – $3.48M
• Cocoa and cocoa preparations – $3.33M
• Manmade staple fibers – $3.19M
• Dairy products, eggs, honey, edible products – $3.17M
• Railway, tramway locomotives, rolling stock, equipment – $3.12M
• Articles of apparel, not knit or crocheted – $2.94M
• Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers – $2.80M
• Cereals – $2.34M
• Soaps, lubricants, waxes, candles, modelling pastes – $2.28M
• Tobacco and manufactures tobacco substitutes – $2.26M
• Residues, wastes of food industry, animal fodder – $2.20M
• Other made textile articles, sets, worn clothing – $2.19M
• Explosives, pyrotechnics, matches, pyrophorics – $2.13M
• Wadding, felt, nonwovens, yarns, twine, cordage – $2.11M
• Tools, implements, cutlery of base metal – $1.96M
• Glass and glassware – $1.81M
• Toys, games, sports requisites – $1.76M
• Pharmaceutical products – $1.71M
• Vegetable, fruit, nut food preparations – $1.66M
• Ships, boats, and other floating structures – $1.65M
• Ceramic products – $1.59M
• Oil seed, oleagic fruits, grain, seed, fruits – $1.11M
• Ores slag and ash – $1.03M
• Albuminoids, modified starches, glues, enzymes – $1.01M
• Aluminum – $1.00M
• Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials – $981.32K
• Sugars and sugar confectionery – $795.05K
• Wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal – $752.99K
• Live animals – $731.82K
• Miscellanneous manufactured articles – $724.75K
• Articles of leather, animal gut, harness, travel good – $653.50K
• Live trees, plants, bulbs, roots, cut flowers – $648.27K
• Salt, sulphur, earth, stone, plaster, lime and cement – $563.80K
• Coffee, tea, mate and spices – $525.25K
• Aircraft, spacecraft – $453.99K
• Impregnated, coated or laminated textile fabric – $367.05K
• Manmade filaments – $348.93K
• Copper – $344.09K
• Meat, fish and seafood preparations – $278.23K
• Headgear and – $277.49K
• Animal, vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products – $268.41K
• Clocks and watches – $232.23K
• Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatics invertebrates – $127.69K
• Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins – $117.28K
• Carpets and other textile floor coverings – $66.14K
• Lac, gums, resins – $62.03K
• Base metals not specified elsewhere, cermets. – $60.41K
• Products of animal origin – $45.62K
• Photographic or cinematographic goods – $42.91K
• Umbrellas, walking-sticks, seat-sticks, whips – $40.68K
• Zinc – $31.12K
• Special woven or tufted fabric, lace, tapestry – $21.03K
• Bird skin, feathers, artificial flowers, human hair – $15.26K
• Arms and ammunition, parts and accessories – $12.63K
• Cotton – $10.94K
• Musical instruments, parts and accessories – $6.09K
• Works of art, collectors’ pieces and antiques – $4.82K
• Knitted or crocheted fabric – $4.77K
• Furskins and artificial fur, manufactures – $4.23K
• Manufacturers of plaiting material, basketwork – $3.92K
• Lead – $2.85K
• Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather – $1.68K
• Cork and articles of cork – $356
• Vegetable textile fibers not specified elsewhere, paper yarn, woven fabric – $210
• Nickel – $191
• Pulp of wood, fibrous cellulosic material, waste – $33
• Wool, animal hair, horsehair yarn and fabric – $33
• Tin – $10.02K
• Vegetable plaiting materials, vegetable products – $364
• Silk – $1.26K
• Commodities not specified according to kind – $17.48M