The determination of Mpumalanga's competitive economic sectors for effective export promotion

Abstract

Research has shown that South African regions have been experiencing reasonable export growth, as well as growth in the gross domestic product (GDP), population and skills level. South Africa’s provinces have been experiencing difficulties allocating resources for effective export enhancement and promotion. Through effective targeting of specific sectors and industries within the South African provinces, provincial government entities would be able to determine from which sector or industry they could gain the most through effective targeting of certain sectors. The overall focus of this study was on the Mpumalanga Province. By using the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA), the potential priority export products in each industry or sector in the Mpumalanga Province were determined. The products identified were matched to the export opportunities identified by the Decision Support Model (DSM) to determine if products are seen as viable export opportunities for the province. The composition of the Mpumalanga Province’s economic activities and an economic profile was also determined and discussed. The three products with the highest potential export opportunities identified by the RCA and successfully matched to the DSM, were manganese products, salted bovine meat (beef) and tomatoes. These results concluded that products identified by the RCA and matched to the DSM, are potential export opportunities for the Mpumalanga Province and South Africa.