More than 400 business leaders, exporters, investors, policymakers and trade experts have converged on KuGompo City, formerly East London, for the seventh Eastern Cape Export Symposium, as the province intensifies efforts to expand its presence in regional and international markets.
An initiative of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), the symposium is being attended by Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, members of the provincial executive, trade experts, business chambers and delegates from across the continent, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Zambia and Malawi.
Representatives from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the European Union and the British High Commission are also participating in the two-day event.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau and Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni are expected to deliver ministerial addresses later in the day.
Taking place under the theme “Powering Trade Opportunity: Leveraging Infrastructure, Energy and Strategic Partnerships in a Changing Global Economy”, the symposium is exploring ways to strengthen the province’s business sector and position Eastern Cape enterprises to participate more effectively in regional and global markets.
A total of 60 Eastern Cape businesses are also showcasing their products and export potential at the symposium, which is being held at the East London International Convention Centre.
In his keynote address, Premier Mabuyane urged businesses and stakeholders to develop a deeper understanding of global markets and to become more aggressive in pursuing international business opportunities.
He said the export symposium provided an important platform for businesses to translate discussions about potential investments into actual investments, and engagements into tangible orders.
“Recent global developments have reminded us that we cannot become overly dependent on any single market. Europe, Africa and Asia already account for the overwhelming majority of Eastern Cape exports, and we must use this foundation to expand much more aggressively into Africa, the Middle East and Asian markets. The African Continental Free Trade Area presents a particularly important opportunity. Africa must become a much bigger market for goods produced in the Eastern Cape. We must also change the nature of what we export. The Eastern Cape cannot be satisfied with producing raw materials for other economies to process.
“Where the Eastern Cape has agricultural products, natural resources and industrial capacity, the province must create opportunities for processing, packaging, manufacturing and beneficiation. In 2024, the Eastern Cape exported goods worth approximately R76 billion. While this achievement is important, more can be done to expand our export base,” said Mabuyane.
This sentiment was echoed by ECDC Board Chairperson Vuyani Jarana, who said the Corporation had made significant progress in recent years, facilitating more than R664 million in exports against a target of R350 million for the 2025/26 financial year, despite operating in a highly competitive global environment.
Jarana said bringing together diverse stakeholders, particularly provincial policymakers, created an important platform for businesses to understand how to access and compete in international markets.
He said the symposium enabled businesses to engage directly with stakeholders and gain a clearer understanding of the standards and requirements of different international markets.
“The symposium was established to showcase what the Eastern Cape can produce and export, but also to understand what other markets expect from a province like the Eastern Cape. It is important for us at home to improve production proficiency so that we can export a citrus fruit to another country better than any other country, even if the sweetness is the same.
“The ability to produce proficiently gives you a competitive advantage to land the product cost-effectively in foreign markets. It is a complex issue that the ECDC must work on to improve production proficiency, quality and efficiency, while also opening up markets.
“This is a coming together of policymakers and investors to solve one thing: what do we need to do to ensure that more and more products from the Eastern Cape reach international markets?” Jarana said.
