Sector
Agriculture & Agri-processing
Aquaculture & Mariculture
Public Sector Entity
South Africa's western coastal shelf is one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. Much of this shelf is in Northern Cape waters and the province is already an extremely profitable area for fishing and aqua-culture. The waters around Port Nolloth, the Northern Cape's principal port, are unpolluted, nutrient-rich and abundant with marine life. Enormous potential exists in long-line hake fishing from Port Nolloth, as an example, as well as the development of aqua- and mariculture on the coast.
Investment opportunities
Hake
South African hake is of exceptional quality and the fish is one of the country's premier exports, particularly to Spain and other European countries. The hake, caught by the environmentally-preferred method of long-lining, is flown on ice to Europe, and there are therefore numerous opportunities to both increase hake exports to these markets, and
invest in further infrastructure in the region to cater for this demand.
Long-lining hake is especially suited to small and medium-sized enterprises. Corporate and community fishing businesses in Port Nolloth are well organised and have the infrastructure and skills to process and export hake, but opportunities do exist to support community fishing groups in developing managerial and entrepreneurial skills and in gaining access to capital.
Aquaculture
Aqua-culture is a promising industry in the Northern Cape. Extensive investment has already been made in the province, but more research is needed to assess the full potential of aqua-culture in the region. The potential is not in doubt, as the Northern Cape has numerous competitive advantages including unpolluted waters, cheap land, good infrastructure and a strong research and development base.
Research conducted has identified opportunities in the following areas:
Oysters: South African oysters are marketed fresh for the local market, where demand of some five to six million oysters per annum exceeds existing supply. With increasing numbers of tourists visiting South Africa, domestic demand is set to grow still further, as well as the largely untapped export market.
Abalone: Traditionally a delicacy in the Far East, tinned, fresh and frozen abalone from South Africa is exported primarily to Hong Kong. The international market for South African abalone is growing, especially for live abalone which is exported to Japan. Demand exceeds supply and opportunities exist to exploit South African-developed farming technology for abalone.
Freshwater ornamental fish: There is strong demand internationally and locally for freshwater ornamental fish. Given the difficulties Asian farmers are
experiencing in terms of water quality and poor environmental conditions, South Africa could significantly increase its export numbers. The Northern Cape is uniquely placed to enter this market because it has suitable conditions for farming both marine ornamental fish on the west coast and freshwater ornamental fish along the lower Orange River.
Marine food fish: The Northern Cape coast is suitable for the cultivation of high-value marine food fish such as salmon, trout, kabeljou, turbot and other indigenous line fish species. There are small local niche markets for these species but before the industry can be adequately developed, market research must be conducted to assess opportunities in the international fish markets.
Seaweed: South African agar-producing seaweed (agaro phytes), collected from beaches in Saldanha Bay, is being farmed on an experimental basis.
Agar is a gelatinous substance made from seaweed, widely used in the East in food and bacterial cultures. South African seaweed is dried and exported, mainly to Japan, where the agar is extracted. There is potential for farming seaweed on the Northern Cape coast, especially if agar were to be extracted locally. It is estimated that for an agar processing plant to be viable, between 200 and 300 tons of agar would have to be produced, requiring some 1 000 tons of seaweed. Given the current high yields of local seaweed, the culture of agar-producing seaweed would make a Northern Cape agar plant a potentially lucrative venture.
For more information on these and other investment opportunities in the Northern Cape contact Mr Frank Tlhomelang on +27 53 830 4807 or at ktlhomelang@perm.ncape.gov.za.
Economic Sectors
The biggest component of the Northern Cape’s regional GDP (GDPR) is the tertiary
sector (52%), followed by the primary sector (31.8%). The agricultural sector is traditionally strong, but is sensitive to price changes and droughts. The manufacturing sector in the last few years has generated strong growth nationally mainly because of significant growth in consumer demand for semi-durable and durable goods. Manufacturing is a definite growth area for the province. Finance, real estate and business services are other areas of growth mainly driven by the housing/property boom in the province, and the growing demand for business services fuelled by demand for primary products and services. Construction was the best-performing sector in the province in 2004 and continues to show good growth and exciting prospects for future economic and social development.
