South African Business 2018 edition

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF THE
EASTERN CAPE
The Eastern Cape extends over 169 580 square
kilometres, representing 13.9% of South Africa’s
land mass. The dry western interior is one of the
country’s premier sheep-rearing and mohairproducing
areas.
The mountainous regions of the north and east
of the province support timber plantations while the
coastal belt in the south-west is good for dairy farming.
The province has spectacular beaches stretching
from the surfer’s paradise at Jeffrey’s Bay all the way
to the famed Wild Coast.
The province has a strong agricultural base.
Aside from being one of the world’s major sources
of mohair, the province offers perfect farming
conditions for a wide range of produce. The fertile
Langkloof Valley in the south-west has enormous
deciduous fruit orchards, while the Alexandria and
Grahamstown area produces pineapples, chicory and
dairy products. It is the leading livestock province in
terms of numbers and supplies a quarter of South
Africa’s milk.
Logistically, the Eastern Cape is well served, with
two major airports in Port Elizabeth and East London,
and several facilities serving smaller towns such as
Mthatha and Bhisho. Many farms and private game
reserves also have airstrips. Another key logistics
factor is the large port at Ngqura, within the Coega
Industrial Development Zone (IDZ). The ports of Port
Elizabeth and East London are well-established, with
the latter breaking a record in April 2016 by handling
10 000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles for export in
the month.
Key sectors
The Eastern Cape is best known for its automotive
industry and its strong and varied agricultural sector.
The established companies in the automotive
industry (such as Volkswagen SA and Mercedes-Benz
SA) have been making major investments in the
automotive sector and they have been joined by
two large Chinese concerns. The agri-processing
sector continues to attract new investments, such
as Famous Brands’ new tomato paste factory at the
Coega Industrial Development Zone. Coega Dairy
is one of the biggest of its kind in South Africa and
manages the Famous Brands Cheese Company.
Financial services, real estate and banking are
large contributors to the province’s GDP. Absa,
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