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South Africa boasts one of Africa's most developed and diverse economies, supported by a robust commercial sector and sophisticated distribution networks.

This report highlights export certification requirements for Kazakhstan. Please note that certification requirements may continue to change as Kazakhstan reforms its standards and regulations to meet Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.

This report is an overview of the general legal and technical requirements for food and agricultural imports imposed by Kazakhstan.

The FAIRS Annual Country Report provides a comprehensive summary of the rules and regulations governing the import of food and agricultural products to South Africa.

This report has been updated to include the latest information relevant to exporting to South Africa. The Food and Agricultural Import Regulation and Standards (FAIRS) Certificate Report provides a comprehensive list of the main certificates required for exporting plants, animals, and animal products to South Africa.

On December 30, 2024, the Ministry of Trade and Integration announced the first stage of 2025 meat and poultry quotas by HS code for historic suppliers (i.e., importers). The first stage approved the distribution of 2,835 tons of beef and 31,500 tons of poultry.

Import permits for genetically engineered (GE) corn from the United States are once again issued by South Africa. After a mid-summer drought that caused a 22 percent drop in production, South Africa needs to import corn to supplement domestic production.

Central Asia is a diverse, important corner of the world and a growing market for U.S. goods. Agricultural imports from the world for Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan totaled $11.6 billion in 2023 and have nearly doubled over the last three years, with the United States as the 11th largest trade partner at $196 million.

The South African Department of Agriculture is in the process of finalizing requirements related to “control management systems,” which may include additional requirements of documentation to support label claims for imported food products.

On July 19, 2024, the South African government published a new sugar import tariff of R1,093 per metric ton (US$60.09/MT). This tariff change was triggered by a downward trend in global sugar prices and will apply to sugar imported into the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU).

In July 2024, falling global wheat prices triggered a wheat import duty of Rand 176.30 (USD 9.70) per metric ton for South Africa ending more than three years of duty-free imports. The higher import duty was introduced amid a 7 percent drop in wheat planted area for marketing year 2024/25.

This report is an overview of the general legal and technical requirements for food and agricultural imports imposed by Kazakhstan. Since the 2023 FAIRS Report was published, there have been no major updates to Kazakhstani food and agricultural import regulations and standards.