South African exporters use documentary credits and cash in advance far too heavily according to the Johannesburg Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Reaching this conclusion in comments on its half-yearly export barometer figures, the chamber also claimed that companies' reluctance to use other trade instruments such as export credit insurance, for faiting and factoring has resulted in reduced export and foreign exchange earnings for South Africa.

To wean companies off documentary credits and cash in advance the chamber enlisted the help of Industrial Development Corporation and Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB) to explain at a November workshop the benefits of alternative methods of financing. It argued that financing instruments other than those currently favoured by South African companies could provide a more stable cash flow for companies breaking into new and wider foreign markets.