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Durban's economic structure
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In terms of output, the largest
economic sector in the DMA is manufacturing which
accounts for almost a third (30.9%) of gross geographic
product. Other important sectors include trade and
catering (20.8%), which reflects the large tourist
industry, finance and real estate (14.0%), community
services (14.4%) and transport (12.8%) reflecting the
operations of the Durban Port and International Airport.
In terms of employment, the most significant sectors are
community services (30.5%), manufacturing (29.3%) and
trade and catering
(16.1%). |
Trade
Sector
The DMA operates as an
international trade centre. The advantageous location of the
port, on the east coast, makes it a natural gateway to trade
with Pacific Rim and Indian Ocean countries. The port of
Durban is the busiest in Africa and is South Africa's most
important general cargo and container port. The Durban port
handles 50% of South Africa's break-bulk cargo and 64.8% of
containerised traffic. It processes more containers than all
other South African ports combined and earns 65% of total
national port revenue. Currently, around 27 million tons of
cargo is handled annually in Durban. This is projected to
reach over 40 million tons by the year 2000 and 51 million
tons by 2015. The current port infrastructure has reached
capacity and further development of port facilities is
required to meet increasing demand.
Manufacturing Sector
Manufacturing is the DMA's
economic engine accounting for approximately 30% of output and
employment respectively. The largest sub-sectors in terms of
net output are food, beverages, textiles, clothing, paper,
printing, chemicals, fabricated metals and motor vehicles and
components.
- Together chemicals and industrial chemicals
comprise the largest portion of manufactured output. These
sub-sectors have seen significant growth and foreign
investment during the 1990s. The growing demand for an
increasing variety of synthetic products has further
contributed to positive growth in these sectors.
- Food and
beverages together comprise 17% of manufactured output
and have also shown significant growth. Exports, especially
in the Southern African region, have played a major role in
this growth.
- Clothing and
textiles have declined with reduced tariffs and the
resultant increase in cheap imports from low-wage countries
rendering many producers uncompetitive. Some producers have
managed to restructure into niche markets, or higher quality
and value ends of the market, so as to take advantage of
export and other opportunities. Many firms in the
sector are, however, still struggling to come to terms with
the new environment.
- The region is home to major world
players in the timber producing and
paper sectors and has the potential to make much greater
use of competitive inputs. However, stringent end market
demands in Europe, North America and Asia present major
challenges to the production of final goods in this country.
Packaging and printing have seen some significant growth
with the increase in trade moving through the region
resulting in increased demands for these services.
- The motor
vehicles assembly and components sub-sector contributes
over 6% to manufactured output. Added to this is production
classified as other transport equipment, including ship
building and repairs, trailers, canopies and bus
bodies.
Commercial and financial sector
The DMA is a substantial
commercial and administrative centre, providing key services
within the Metropolitan area, as well as to the wider region.
Within the national context, Durban has 8.5% of national
retail sales, driven largely by a resident population of
approximately 2,5 million people. Durban has more B grade
office space (21.7%) than A grade office space (2.5%)
reflecting the historical dominance of Johannesburg, and the
recent ascendance of Cape Town, as the preferred locations for
national head offices.
Tourism
Sector
KwaZulu-Natal attracts
approximately one quarter of the foreign and domestic visitors
that support South Africa's tourism trade. This amounted to
R1,5 billion and R4,7 billion of income respectively in 1995.
As the primary gateway to KwaZulu-Natal's tourism and
recreation resources, the DMA captures a significant portion
of the country's international and national tourism. Durban's
coastline (particularly the beachfront area), hospitality
infrastructure and business and sports events are the key
tourist attractions within the metropolitan area. The DMA
has, however, been losing out on its share of the lucrative
growing international tourism market to other centres such as
Cape Town.
To: Overview &
Economic Contribution
To: Spatial
Distribution of Economic
Activity
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