Walk into any supermarket and you will find a mix of products to stock the kitchen. It’s easy to assume that many of the goods on offer are sourced locally and from nearby countries. In the region of southern Africa, however, imported goods are often shipped from another continent instead of transported from neighbouring nations. A new UNU-WIDER mini-documentary featuring CCRED Senior Researchers, Thando Vilakazi and Reena das Nair, explains why.