Manufacturing
• Magwa Tea Estate is South Africa’s largest
The automotive industry has dominated the Eastern Cape manufacturing sector for a long time but that is changing. The provincial government supports such diversification for good reason: with the automotive sector supplying 30% of manufacturing employment and 32% of gross value-added manufacturing, the province’s economy may be vulnerable to fluctuations in demand for vehicles.
The provincial diversification strategy is targeting sectors in which the province already has a competitive advantage (as with wool and mohair), are labour-intensive, will have a broad impact, and have low barriers to entry for small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises. These sectors include agri-processing and food, timber, tourism, construction, chemicals, energy and mariculture.
The plastics industry is a key supporter of the automotive industry, but is also active in moulding, packaging and construction. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals are well represented within manufacturing, with two of the country’s biggest companies having a significant presence. East London is host to Johnson & Johnson’s finance, operations and research and development divisions, while Aspen Pharmacare has manufacturing facilities in both East London and Port Elizabeth.
Food and beverages
Ouma Rusks (by Nola) and Mrs HS Ball’s Chutney originated in the Eastern Cape and, although only the rusks are still manufactured in Molteno, the site where they were invented, the province remains home to a good variety of tasty and popular products. Nola’s Molteno factory produces 37 million rusks and employs 87 people, making the manufacturer a significant player in the town’s small rural economy.
Port Elizabeth, on the other hand, has several large enterprises: Cadbury Chocolates, Coca-Cola Sabco and SAB Limited’s Ibhayi Brewery are among the biggest. Clover has recently built a new UHT and freshmilk factory there too. The Eastern Cape produces 21.8% of South Africa’s milk.
Nestlé has a manufacturing facility in East London. Magwa Tea Estate, near Lusikisiki in the former Transkei area, is South Africa’s largest. Its products are exported to Pakistan, the UK and China.
Leather and textiles
Considerable potential exists to create more value from the excellent wool, leather and mohair that the province’s livestock produces. The first International Mohair Conference was held in Port Elizabeth in 2009. A fibre-processing plant to spin wool and mohair fibre into yarn is planned, as is a textile mill to focus on cotton, polycotton and acrylic fabric. The latter will be located in the industrial development zone in East London, where Da Gama Textiles’ factory has the capacity to produce 45 million square metres of fabric per annum.
ONLINE RESOURCES Coega Industrial Development Corporation: www.coega.co.za
East London Industrial Development Zone: www.elidz.co.za
National Agricultural Marketing Council: www.namc.co.za
South African Bureau of Standards: www.sabs.co.za
