The impact of exchange rates is a significant concern affecting trade in the SADC region. This study’s purpose is to assess the threshold effects of exchange rates on agricultural exports from SA to SADC from 2010 to 2022. A panel threshold estimation technique is applied to assess the exchange rates effects in different regimes that can be below or above the threshold value. This can reveal non-linear relationships that are often overlooked in traditional linear models. In this analysis, exchange rates are disaggregated into appreciation and depreciation, as it is critical to determine how these changes affect agricultural exports, which has not been achieved in previous studies. The findings of this study confirm the existence of a non-linear relationship between several key variables (depreciation, South Africa’s GDP, the GDP of the SADC, and South Africa’s population and agricultural exports). This contributes new insights to the existing literature on the SADC economies. The policymakers could implement an exchange rate stabilisation mechanism and promote the diversification of both market destinations and agricultural export products. The SADC economies could consider adopting flexible exchange rate regimes that respond to market forces, while taking into account external shocks and economic indicators to mitigate the effects of depreciation shocks. Furthermore, the findings from this study can aid policymakers in formulating effective strategies for managing exchange rates fluctuations and promoting agricultural export growth. The findings show that different segments of agricultural exports can inform targeted interventions aimed at supporting exporters, and relevant industries within the SADC region. These results can aid policymakers to develop strategies to support sustainable agricultural practises, and ensure that the sector can meet the growing demands of a larger population.

Background: Enhancing South Africa-Southern African Development Community (SADC) intra-regional trade can strengthen economic connections, foster shared growth, and lessen reliance on external market shocks. Aim: The study aimed to determine the conditional effect of real exchange rate on agricultural export. Setting: The study used a panel of SADC countries for the period 2010 to 2022. Method: A Method of Moment Regression (MMQR) was used to determine the flow of agricultural exports between South Africa and SADC countries. Results: The MMQR results revealed valuable insights into how different quantiles of agricultural export flows change with varying levels of exchange rates in the region. The real effective exchange rates analysis indicated that all quantiles are significant. This showed that a depreciating currency can have a positive impact on agricultural exports in the SADC region, making agricultural products more competitive in international markets. Conclusion: These findings correlate with the quantile MMQR graphs that, upon observation, indicate a wider U-shape, which implies higher variability in the real effective exchange rates, with significant fluctuations in both directions because of the instability of markets that can negatively affect agricultural exports. Therefore, the SADC region must maintain a stable exchange rate and diversify its agricultural exports to remain competitive in the market. Contribution: The study contributes to the literature on exchange rate and agricultural sector in the region. Also, it provides a fresh perspective on quantile conditional effects of agricultural exports and real exchange rates between South Africa and SADC region.

The study investigates the nexus between foreign direct investment inflows and electricity consumption in South Africa. The study utilized borrowed time series data sourced from the World Bank and South African Reserve Bank spanning from 1970 to 2020. The study employs a Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) models to investigate the nexus between foreign direct investment inflows and electricity consumption in South Africa. The results of the Johansen cointegration test revealed the presence of cointegration relationships between the variables in the study. The results of the FMOLS and DOLS revealed negative statistically significant and insignificant relationship between electricity consumption and foreign direct investment inflows in South Africa, respectively. Other results revealed that economic growth has a positive statistically significant relationship with foreign direct investment inflows. The Granger causality results revealed unidirectional causality running from economic growth to foreign direct investment inflows. The study recommends that the government and policymakers must revise policies on electricity consumption and economic growth to attract foreign direct investment inflows in South Africa.