Photo by: Reuters
The Western Cape's trade promotion agency Wesgro said on Thursday it had helped secure R4.98-billion in trade declarations on behalf of the province and its capital Cape Town during the 2018/19 financial year.
Wesgro says its international trade team also assisted in landing R381-million in outward foreign direct investment into the rest of Africa by Western Cape companies during the period.
Wesgro receives its international trade promotion mandate from the provincial government and the city of Cape Town, and assists companies through its export advancement programme, outward selling missions and through business agreement facilitation.
During the last quarter of 2018/19, the trade team hosted four export missions to France, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Cameroon and also undertook a fact-finding mission to Saudi Arabia.
It also hosted a Halal-focused programme, where 32 companies participated.
"Growing Halal exports and accessing the more than US$1-trillion market abroad, is a key strategic focus of the team, in line with the Western Cape Government’s Project Khulisa strategy," Wesgro said.