The decision by the Botswana government to ban fresh fruit imports from South Africa could violate a number of trade agreements.
According to News24 the agreement likely violated World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Southern African Customs Union (SACU) agreements.
The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) said a blanket ban on the import of South African vegetables was not acceptable and that agreements on restrictions had to be “amicable”.
Wolfe Braude of Agbiz was quoted by News24 as saying: “They [Botswana] are not supposed to ban anything as part of the Customs Union agreement. The union means that there is no barrier or tariff between countries. It’s got to a point where the bans are not even WTO-compatible. They would be hard-pressed to justify them.”
Braude went on to say: “It does not yet appear as if SACU member states have the political will to stop such border closures, and this undermines SACU. Such closures could spread further to other commodities and other members.”
Botswana has in recent years begun implementing a number of populist economic policies, ostensibly to protect the local economy.