On Wednesday, the BRICS Business Council met to deliberate on agricultural matters ahead of the BRICS conference, due to be held in New Delhi, India, in September 2026. The BRICS Business Council is a platform which aims to strengthen ties between the business, trade, and investment communities in the BRICS countries – founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The agribusinesses involved have reflected on several aspects throughout the year, including climate change challenges in agriculture, regenerative agricultural initiatives, food security, agricultural innovation and research cooperation, and international trade.

As South African agribusinesses, we have continued to champion the need to deepen intra-BRICS trade. There is no disagreement among agribusinesses, commodity associations, and organised farming associations that the BRICS grouping has potential for export expansion. Thus, we have consistently pushed for a deeper conversation on this issue.

We view the BRICS grouping as a crucial market for agricultural and food products. The expanded grouping accounts for roughly half of the world’s agricultural imports.

Now, the BRICS partners, while major agricultural importers, do not tend to source agricultural products from South Africa. The original BRICS countries, which are among the key importers, mainly India and China, account for less than 10% of South Africa’s agricultural exports. By comparison, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries account for roughly 20% of South Africa’s agricultural exports.

Clearly, higher tariffs and phytosanitary barriers are the major challenges preventing deeper penetration of South African agricultural products into these BRICS markets.

Remarkably, some BRICS countries have far more favourable trading terms with countries outside the grouping, resulting in lower intra-BRICS agricultural trade.

The need to correct this misalignment in trade is even more urgent with the expanded BRICS grouping. The new BRICS members - Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - have made the grouping's agricultural market even broader and it thus holds potential economic benefits for members.

I must state clearly that BRICS is not a formal trade grouping. But as it matures politically, deepening regional economic integration, trade is the most logical step towards expanding the ambition of the group, particularly in agriculture. Another vital benefit of advancing agricultural trade is ensuring food security within the BRICS grouping.

Therefore, while forming a “BRICS comprehensive free-trade agreement” would be a protracted process, for the near term, some form of trade area that establishes preferential market access to agricultural products among countries, lowers import tariffs, and clears phytosanitary barriers is an urgent and appropriate policy step.

Brazil, South Africa, and Russia typically have a large surplus volume of products that India and China, among others, import from the world market. Reducing import tariffs and various non-tariff barriers, or opening up tariff rate quotas for specific agricultural products, would help expand the level of ambition in a more meaningful way, and initiate a process of progressively deepening trade among these countries. Such a step would build on the courageous steps already taken by China. In May 2026, it lowered the tariffs for goods from Africa through the “China-Africa Economic Partnership Agreement”. The BRICS countries can build on this courageous Chinese step, particularly India.

Over the years, the South African Agribusiness Working Group of the BRICS Business Council has focused on advancing exports in these regions. It is the recognition that a more ambitious economic integration through trade is key to the long-term sustainability of this group. Thus, South Africa has always argued for a BRICS agricultural trade partnership or agreement or, at the very least, more active bilateral agreements that would boost BRICS intra-trade.

Although we have not found fertile eagerness for this path, we remain focused on it. As we prepare to go to New Delhi next month, this will be the primary matter for South African agribusinesses.

-- Wandile Sihlobo is the chair of the Agribusiness Working Group in the BRICS Business Council (South Africa Chapter). He is alsoc Chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz).