Delegation Trip to South Africa with the Federal Minister of Agriculture

Alois Rainer, the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Regional Identity, traveled to South Africa (ZA) with a high-level business delegation. Germany is one of South Africa’s largest trading partners worldwide.

The trip was part of the federal government’s agricultural export strategy and was also intended to foster the relationships established at the G20 summit regarding the bioeconomy. The business delegation arrived a day earlier than Federal Minister Rainer to discuss biotechnology and the bioeconomy in Pretoria with, among others, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria. The overall aim of the trip was to reduce trade barriers and, above all, to help small and medium-sized enterprises from Germany tap into new markets. Every new export market means greater value creation in rural areas, international markets thus also secure jobs in Germany. The goal is to establish a trade partnership that is as long-term as possible and based on equality: Germany is committed to fair trade relations, receptive markets, and mutual benefit. Federal Minister Rainer and his South African counterpart, John Steenhuisen, signed a joint memorandum of understanding in Cape Town regarding, among other things, enhanced cooperation in the fight against and prevention of foot-and-mouth disease.

Also on the trip were delegates from the Andreas Hermes Academy, Bayer AG, BIO Deutschland e. V., the Federal Association of the Beef and Pork Industry (Bundesverband Rind und Schwein e. V.), the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, the German Agribusiness Alliance, Premium Food Group ApS & Co. KG, RAUCH Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH, the German Meat Industry Association (Verband der Fleischwirtschaft e. V.), and WIESENHOF International GmbH