Limpopo Business 2017-18 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
The following areas have been identified as
priority zones for the province’s industrialisation
strategy: Polokwane, Lephalale, Tubatse, Tzaneen
and the Makhado-Musina corridor.
Economic strengths
When it comes to exports Limpopo punches above
its weight because of the abundance of mineral
wealth under the ground, and the superb fruit and
vegetables that the province's farmers cultivate.
Potatoes are grown, together with 75% of South
Africa’s mangoes and tomatoes; papayas (65%); tea
(36%); citrus, bananas and litchis (25%) and 60% of
the country's avocadoes.
The best performing subsector of South African
exports over the last five years is fruit and nuts (www.
worldstopexports.com). Limpopo has been a major
contributor to the country’s excellent export record:
avocadoes, mangoes and macadamia nuts from
the province's eastern regions are hugely popular
in international markets and Limpopo's commercial
farmers are extremely efficient.
The province has huge reserves of coal, platinum,
chromium, uranium clay, nickel, cobalt, vanadium,
limestone and tin. Demand will always fluctuate,
and the commodities cycle has recently been very
volatile, but the world will always need minerals.
Limpopo assets include the largest diamond
mine in South Africa, the biggest copper mine in
South Africa, the biggest open-pit platinum mine
in the country and the biggest vermiculite mine in
the world. The province has 41% of South Africa’s
platinum group metals (PGMs), 90% of South Africa’s
red-granite resources and approximately 50% of the
country’s coal reserves. Antimony, a highly strategic
mineral found in large quantities in China, is another
of Limpopo’s major assets.
Two of the largest engineering projects in the
history of South Africa have recently been undertaken
in Limpopo. Both the Medupi power station
(at Lephalale in the far west) and the De Hoop Dam
(in the south-east) have the potential to give the
region's economy a massive boost.
The combined land area of Limpopo's
wnational, provincial and private game and nature
reserves is 3.6-million hectares. According to the
Premier’s office, the tourism sector employs about
22 400 people.
The Kruger National Park is one of the world’s
most famous conservation areas, and a major attraction
for the region. Limpopo has two World
Heritage Sites: the Mapungubwe National Park (the
19 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2017/18