Africa: Simplifying imports from Africa
South Africa offers a wide range of primary and manufactured goods opportunities and is a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
When importing from South Africa it is important to understand that you may also bring in goods to South Africa from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland free of duty under the South African Customs Union (SACU). These five countries form an effective Trade Bloc and SACU, which came into force in 1970 and is the oldest Customs Union in the world.
With the wide range of products available at very competitive prices throughout SACU it is not difficult to negotiate a good purchase price, however; businesses must give careful consideration to specific product legislation, the origins of their goods, and also conduct detailed due diligence on supplier ability.
To date, Total Imports clients have been accessing the technological market provided in South Africa where high specification products are manufactured at a vastly reduced cost then within the UK.
Total Imports offers its full range of services within South Africa and consequently SACU. Our services are effective simply because we have experts in South African Import legislation and Logistics actually on the ground, in country.
If you would like to access the South African market we can easily manage your trade for you to your exact requirements.
North Africa
Importing from North African countries can provide interesting challenges due to the differences in regulations between the North African countries and what can be perceived as a very fluid business environment, where understanding the local culture is a vital first step in understanding the way your business trade will work.
Energy products and primary resources are one of the main commodities in North Africa, although there is also a good range of other products.
The North African countries can not be described as a collective except in the sense that they are all subject, in varying degrees, to external pressures that directly affect Trade arrangements. UK businesses seeking to access the North African markets must be fully satisfied with their arrangements before entering into a Trade and should always be prepared to work through differences in business methods with suppliers.