South Africa is importing vast quantities of tomato paste despite having the local capability to produce it, leaving the country with a long-standing negative trade balance. Industry experts and government officials say this must be urgently addressed through localisation, infrastructure investment, and targeted policy support.
At a recent webinar focused on the tomato paste value chain, hosted by the department of agriculture in partnership with the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), stakeholders outlined the structural hurdles, global imbalances, and practical interventions needed to revitalise local processing.
Why Mzansi is trailing behind global processors
Manager at Agro-Food Chains, Dr Moses Lubinga, highlighted the stark contrast between South Africa’s production and global output, noting that China leads global tomato production by a wide margin with 32.72% of world output, while South Africa ranks 42nd, accounting for just 0.27%.
Lubinga observed that while global tomato processing has been rising since 2020, South Africa experienced a sharp decline over the same period due to Covid-19 and other operational challenges.
With local processing volumes remaining minimal, he stressed the need for a decisive turnaround, pointing to trade data showing that the country imports far more tomato paste than it exports.
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Citing industry input regarding “hot break” and “cold break” processing methods, he questioned why South Africa continues to import products it could process locally, emphasising that localisation must be the priority.
“What are the missing links in South Africa’s tomato paste value chain? What must we do?” Lubinga asked.
High costs and persistent import pressures
Unpacking the root causes of this deficit, economics lecturer at the University of Cape Town Mike De Klerk presented findings from a study conducted in late 2024 and early 2025 for the department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) and the industrial development corporation (IDC). The study interviewed producers and industry stakeholders to determine why local production lags behind consumption.
“Asking we look as if we’ve got lots of potential to produce more tomato paste, but we have a very negative trade balance. So why is it that we’re not producing more of what we consume in South Africa? And that’s a good, important question that needs to be looked at carefully,” De Klerk said.
A SWOT analysis of tomato paste processors revealed key internal strengths, such as existing local production capabilities, but underscored high production costs as a major weakness. While increasing tariff protection presents an opportunity, import competition and price pressure remain persistent threats.
Regarding the public sector and policy environment, De Klerk identified a strong multi-institutional framework for industry support, but cautioned against heavy dependence on tariffs and rebates without alternative protective measures.
He highlighted the potential designation of tomato paste and related value-added products for local public procurement as a key opportunity, while pointing to future tariff reductions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a potential threat.
Smart solutions: Dual-use models and zero-rating beans
To enhance competitiveness, policy recommendations proposed during the session included expanding demand through export market development, introducing a VAT zero-rating for canned beans in tomato sauce, and exploring dual-use processing models for tomato and fruit concentrates to reduce costs.
Other measures included managing the entry of new processors to prevent overcapacity, improving the efficiency and transparency of the import rebate system, facilitating access to affordable finance, and encouraging product differentiation.
Science, state support, and the right cultivars
Addressing the agricultural science behind processing, Dr Mariette Truter, acting senior manager for research at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), discussed agro-processing testing conducted using germplasm from breeding programmes.
She noted that these initiatives aim to increase the shelf life of tomatoes, showcase the crop’s potential in product development, and promote coloured tomato varieties to smallholder farmers seeking to venture into processing.
Truter added that selecting the right tomato cultivars is crucial for processing efficiency, with key traits including high soluble solids (Brix), high lycopene content, firm fruit texture, a determinate growth habit, and strong disease resistance.
Meanwhile, Dr Joshua Magomani, an agricultural economist with the department of agriculture, outlined interventions targeted at agro-processing value chains.
He stated that the department is actively working to address core sector bottlenecks, including a lack of access to capital, lack of appropriate technology, insufficient technical and entrepreneurial skills, inadequate bulk and farm infrastructure, inconsistent raw material supply, and compliance with mandatory standards.
According to Magomani, state intervention strategies focus on four main pillars: entrepreneurial support, enterprise development through access to finance and markets, industry research and technology transfer, and infrastructure investment.
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