South African exporters are facing rising uncertainty as global trade rules shift, tariff regimes become more complex and infrastructure constraints continue to limit market access. Speaking at a recent Exporters Western Cape (EWC) event in Cape Town, industry experts highlighted the increasing complexity of global trade and policy.
South Africa's Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson is demanding greater accountability from public officials in a bid to rebuild trust in the country's institutions and ensure infrastructure delivery benefits communities rather than private interests.
Archie Vermeulen is an industry veteran who previously headed national logistics operations for Vodacom as well as Cell C. During our visit to record a video tour of RAM’s new facility (view it here), we spent some extra time chatting to Archie and he shared some insights on people, process & equipment in warehousing. There were some real nuggets in the 9 minutes that we recorded and if you’re involved in warehousing operations, we encourage you to listen to it.
One of the key topics of discussion to be explored and debated at the 2026 Manufacturing Indaba will focus on how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can be translated from policy into practical industrial growth through the development of Pan-African manufacturing value chains.
