On August 4, the business community in the BRICS Grouping (BRICS Business Council) met to deliberate on agricultural matters ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, in September.

The agribusinesses have reflected on several aspects throughout the year, including climate change challenges in agriculture, regenerative agriculture initiatives, food security, agricultural innovation and research cooperation, and international trade.

As South African agribusinesses, we have continued to champion the need to deepen intra-BRICS trade. There is no disagreement among South African agribusinesses, commodity associations and organised farming associations that the BRICS grouping has the potential for export expansion. Thus, we have consistently pushed for a deeper conversation on this issue.

We view the BRICS grouping as a crucial market for agriculture and food products. The expanded grouping accounts for roughly half of the worldâs agricultural imports.

Now, these BRICS partners, while major agricultural importers, do not source agricultural products from South Africa. The original BRICS countries, which are among the key importers, mainly India and China, account for less than 10% of South Africaâs agricultural exports. By comparison, the Southern African Customs Union countries account for roughly 20% of South Africaâs agricultural exports.

Clearly, the higher tariffs and phytosanitary barriers are the major challenges preventing deeper penetration of South African agricultural products in these BRICS markets.

Remarkably, some BRICS countries have far more favourable trading terms with other countries outside the grouping, resulting in lower intra-BRICS agricultural trade.

The need to correct this misalignment in trade is even more urgent with the expanded BRICS grouping. The new BRICS members mean that the groupingâs agricultural market is even broader, with potential economic benefits for members.

I must state clearly that BRICS is not a formal trade grouping. But as the grouping matures politically, deepening regional economic integration and trade is the most logical step towards expanding the ambition of the group, particularly in agriculture. Another vital benefit of advancing agricultural trade is ensuring food security within the BRICS grouping.

Preferential market access

Therefore, while a âBRICS comprehensive free trade agreementâ would be a protracted process, for the near term, some form of trade area that establishes preferential market access to agricultural products among countries, lowers import tariffs and clears phytosanitary barriers is an urgent and appropriate policy step.

Brazil, South Africa and Russia typically have a large surplus volume of products that India and China, among others, import from the world market. Reducing import tariffs and various non-tariff barriers, or opening up tariff rate quotas for specific agricultural products, would help expand the level of ambition in a more meaningful way and initiate a process of progressively deepening trade among these countries. Such a step would build on the courageous steps already taken by China. In May, China lowered the tariffs for goods from Africa through the ChinaâAfrica Economic Partnership Agreement. The BRICS countries can build on this step, particularly India.

Over the years, the South African Agribusiness Working Group of the BRICS Business Council has focused on advancing exports in these regions. It is the recognition that a more ambitious economic integration through trade is key to the long-term sustainability of this group.

South Africa has always argued for a BRICS agricultural trade partnership or agreement, or, at the very least, more active bilateral agreements that would boost BRICS intra-trade. But we have not found fertile eagerness for this path, on which we remain focused. As we prepare to go to New Delhi next month, this will be the primary matter for South African agribusinesses. DM