As South Africa is likely to increase agricultural production in the coming years with additional land put into production, we will need other export markets. It is at this point that BRICS becomes essential.

South Africa's agricultural interests in the BRICS markets are not at the expense of the existing and vital export markets in the African continent, EU, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East and others. These existing markets are essential; thus, South Africa exported a record $12.8-billion in agricultural products in 2022. The African continent was the leading market, accounting for 37% of South Africa's agricultural exports in 2022.

Asia was the second-largest agricultural market, accounting for 27% of exports, followed by the EU, which accounted for 19%. The Americas accounted for 7%, and the remaining 10% went to the rest of the world. The UK was one of the leading markets within the "rest of the world" category.

Maize, wine, grapes, citrus, berries, nuts, apples, pears, sugar, avocados and wool were some of the top exportable products in 2022.

In value terms, South Africa already exports roughly half of its annual agricultural produce. As we expect our production to increase in the coming years with additional land put into production, we will need other export markets. It is at this point that BRICS becomes essential.

As things stand, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) account for a relatively small share of...