The proposal comes as Southern African leaders seek to move the region beyond its long-standing dependence on exporting raw materials and towards stronger regional value chains, manufacturing and mineral processing.
South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said the country would use its SADC chairpersonship to advance greater economic integration, infrastructure development, industrialization and the creation of jobs.
The target would represent a significant increase from current levels, with trade between SADC member states accounting for roughly one-fifth of the region’s total trade.
“We need to increase intra-SADC trade to 50%.”
The ambition reflects a broader concern that countries within the bloc continue to import products that could potentially be manufactured within the region while exporting valuable raw materials for processing elsewhere.
Turning Mineral Wealth Into Regional Industries
Critical minerals are at the center of the industrialization agenda.
Southern Africa holds significant deposits of minerals considered essential to global industries, including lithium, cobalt, graphite, copper, manganese and platinum-group metals. Yet much of the region’s mineral wealth continues to leave the continent in raw or minimally processed form.
SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi has called on member states to move away from this model by processing more of their resources locally.
“The challenge is when do we stop exporting them in raw form and start adding value and creating sustainable jobs and wealth?”
Mineral beneficiation could allow SADC countries to capture a larger share of the value generated from their natural resources while creating manufacturing opportunities, skilled employment and new regional supply chains.
The strategy also reflects growing competition globally for critical minerals needed for batteries, renewable-energy technologies, electronics and other advanced industries.
Infrastructure Seen as Key to Trade Expansion
Achieving a substantial increase in regional trade, however, will require more than political commitments.
South Africa has identified infrastructure as a critical foundation for its economic agenda, including transport corridors, ports, energy systems, digital networks and water infrastructure.
Efficient infrastructure would make it easier and cheaper for goods to move between SADC countries while connecting producers to regional and international markets.
Lamola has also highlighted the need to strengthen manufacturing capacity, which currently contributes only around 10% of regional GDP.
For Southern Africa to generate sufficient employment for its growing population, governments are seeking to expand industrial production rather than relying primarily on commodity exports.
Agriculture and Regional Value Chains
Agriculture is another major component of the proposed transformation.
South Africa's SADC agenda includes agricultural transformation and the development of regional value chains that connect producers, processors, manufacturers and consumers across borders.
Rather than individual countries developing isolated industries, the approach would allow different economies to specialize in different stages of production.
For example, agricultural products could be processed in one SADC country, packaged in another and distributed throughout the region. Similar regional production networks could develop around minerals, pharmaceuticals, automotive manufacturing and other industries.
SADC's 2026 Industrialization Week, held in Durban in July, placed similar emphasis on infrastructure development, agricultural transformation, critical minerals, innovation and regional value addition.
South Africa Takes Over SADC Chairpersonship
The trade push comes as South Africa assumes the SADC chairpersonship for 2026–2027.
President Cyril Ramaphosa formally accepted the position at the 46th SADC Summit in Durban, pledging to deepen regional integration and improve the movement of goods, services, capital and skills across borders.
Ramaphosa said the region needed to turn existing commitments into practical economic outcomes, including infrastructure, factories, power systems, businesses and jobs.
He also called for greater use of the African Continental Free Trade Area as countries seek to expand markets beyond their individual national economies.
The focus on regional integration comes as SADC continues to face a gap between its economic ambitions and actual levels of intra-regional commerce. A recent SADC assessment found that the region remains behind on several of its development and growth objectives.
From Agreements to Economic Integration
The proposed 50% trade target is therefore about more than increasing the volume of goods exchanged between neighboring countries.
For South Africa and other SADC members, it represents an attempt to reshape how the region participates in the global economy: from exporting raw resources and importing finished products towards producing, processing and trading more of those goods within Africa.
Whether the target can be achieved will depend on how quickly countries address infrastructure bottlenecks, trade barriers, industrial capacity and investment constraints.
But the direction is increasingly clear. Southern Africa wants its mineral wealth, agricultural potential and growing consumer markets to become the foundation for regional industries rather than simply sources of raw exports.
As South Africa begins its SADC chairpersonship, the challenge will be turning that ambition into factories, supply chains, infrastructure and jobs that can be felt across the region.
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