East Asia has surpassed Europe as South Africa’s major trading partner in volume, yet both destinations still hold important trade ties with the country. With cultural, political, economic and regulatory differences between the two regions, it has become increasingly important for South African importers to proactively deal with business challenges that may arise.
This is according to Dr Gregory Cline, head of Sales at Blue Strata, South Africa’s only integrated end-to-end import and working capital specialist, who says each destination is unique and has its own complexities and competitive advantages.
“Research, background investigations, testimonials, credit and reference checks, have become standard practice for South African importers sourcing goods from Eastern and European countries.
“South Africa is currently Europe’s largest trading partner in Africa, and we mainly import machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and other semi- machinery from countries like Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK).
“Similarly, we have strong trade relations with Eastern countries like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China, which has become our largest trading partner over the last decade.
“Doing proper due diligence and getting to grips with the complexities of sourcing goods from foreign countries can help inexperienced importers avoid making costly business mistakes,” adds Cline.
He warns importers not to apply a one-size fits all approach when sourcing goods abroad due to differing and complex trading conditions.
Instead, the following factors should be considered to ensure ease of business when importing from the East and Europe:
* Understanding language is the biggest challenge that importers face when dealing with suppliers in the East. Using partners that understand all regional languages is often an advantage for importers.
* Products sourced from the East are often rejected because they do not meet set standards. In many cases, samples provided by suppliers differ from the final product quality. Cline advises importers to do thorough research and acquire testimonials when sourcing goods from the East.
While these factors may address some of the complexities of doing business in the East and Europe, Cline, advises importers to consider partnering with experts that offer an integrated importing solution that addresses most of the challenges of sourcing foreign-produced goods, and enables them to focus on their core business.
