King Shaka International Airport lies at the heart of Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, affording direct access to domestic, regional and international markets.

Durban is currently connected to 30 destinations in 19 countries across the African continent through the Qatar Airways hub in Doha.

Easily accessible markets include: 

Botswana;Seychelles; Mozambique;Morocco; Kenya;Tunisia; Tanzania;Angola; Ruanda;Somalia;

Ethiopia; Sudan; Ivory Coast; Namibia; Uganda; Egypt; Djibouti; Nigeria; and Algeria.

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement has given effect to the prospect of increased export potential.

Strategies are in place to support the growth of clothing, textile, footwear and leather exports which complement the locally-focused Retail Clothing, Textile, Footwear (CTFL) and Leather Master Plan, so adding scale to local demand, accelerate growth in value-chains where local CTFL has a competitive advantage and leveraging opportunities for collaboration and competitiveness upgrading.

Priority is particularly being afforded to the expansion of CTFL exports into the rest of Africa and to developing a shared strategic roadmap for the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement with regard to the phasing of CTFL tariff lines and Rules of Origin.

Efforts are being undertaken to:

• Identify and size export market opportunities that map to local sources of

            CTFL competitive advantage, with a particular focus on opportunities arising from

            the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement; and

• Develop a South African CTFL export competitiveness strategy that:
• Defines areas of local CTFL competitive advantage in select markets and value

        chains, particularly in Africa;

• Develops a roadmap for African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement implementation;
• Sets out plans for the development of a CTFL 'Brand SA' and collaborative marketing and go-to-market strategies;
• Describes opportunities for collaboration between local CTFL firms and within

        clusters;

• Defines requirements and plans for cluster upgrading and investment; and
• Recommends enabling policy and regulatory measures.

The Task Team responsible for driving this strategy comprises:

• Retailers, with regional or global reach;
• CTFL manufacturers;
• Organised labour;
• Department of Trade, Industry and Competition;
• Department of International Relations and Co-operation;
• International Trade Administration Commission;
• Industrial Development Corporation; and
• South African Footwear and Leather Export Council.

COTTON

This exceptional boost provides the potential for the local cotton pipeline to become increasingly export-orientated. In addition, cotton fibre and yarn may also be easily imported from the SADC region to supplement production in South Africa

LEATHER

VEGETABLE FIBRES