Thailand-South Africa trade meet to resume in Pretoria this month
The meeting of Thailand-South Africa Joint Trade Committee (JTC) will take place on February 18 in Pretoria, South Africa, after a pause of five years, said Auramon Supthaweethum, Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations.
Auramon will attend the meeting hosted by South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry to discuss expansion and investment in agricultural products and automotive spare parts and solve issues faced by Thai entrepreneurs in South Africa, such as granting permission for Thais to invest in the restaurant and spa businesses to drive trade and investment.
South Africa is the second biggest economy in the region. It is also a member of BRICS, an association of five major emerging economies including Brazil, Russia, India and China and a member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) which will come into being on July 1, 2020. These lead to higher potential in trading with South Africa which could also serve as a gateway for Thailand to enter the other 54 countries in the region.
South Africa is the biggest trading partner of Thailand in the Africa continent. In 2018, total value of trading between two countries stood at US$3.26 billion with Bt2.62 billion in exports to South Africa compared to $636 million in imports from the country.