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African countries urged to use continental free trade agreement to bolster trade

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged African countries to use the continental free trade agreement to bolster trade and to build bridges amongst each other. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Intra-Africa Trade Fair in Durban.

More than 10 000 people and a thousand exhibitors are taking part in the week-long fair.

Business deals, totalling some $40-billion are expected to be signed at the meeting.

Currently, only 3% of Africa’s trade is conducted with other member states of the African Union.

President Ramaphosa says the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed Africa’s vulnerability, with the continent relying heavily on food and medicine imports to feed its population and to keep it healthy. He says with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCTA) that came into effect at the beginning of the year, the Intra-Africa Trade Fair is a golden opportunity to turn the situation around.

“The AFCTA aspires to connect all the regions of Africa to deepen economic integration and to boost Intra-African trade and investment. It aspires to create a single market for goods and services across our 55 countries on our continent, creating a market of as much as 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion,” says President Ramaphosa.

But in order to boost Intra-African trade, countries on the continent need to develop their industrial and manufacturing sectors.

Ramaphosa says at the moment, Africa exports raw material and imports it again as processed consumer goods.

“Finance should be available to all our countries for us to industrialize, improve our agriculture and to do a whole lot of other things to produce products and services. SA stands ready to work closely with all African countries to forge more balanced, equitable and fair trade relations amongst African nations,” elaborates Ramaphosa.

Prof Benedict Oramah from the African Export-Import Bank says the free trade agreement by itself will not open borders for African-based manufacturers.

Fertile conditions for this to happen, includes the flow of information and making African business people aware of the opportunities that exist on the continent.

Oramah believes the automotive industry can play a big role in enabling cross border cooperation.

“With an average vehicle boasting over 30 000 components, a vibrant automotive sector can trigger the emergence of rubber and rubber-related auto parts industries in rubber-producing countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire. It can also boost activities in metal producing countries, and also leather producing countries. It can also foster the development of the Petro-Chemical industry,” says Prof Benedict Oramah.

President Haikande Hichilema of Zambia says the success of the African Free Trade Area depends not only on trust among member states, but also on the benefits filtering down to grass roots level.

“We must ensure that the African Free Trade area is meaningful to all our people across Africa; meaningful for inclusive economic growth, jobs and business opportunities in our individual countries. Because if we don’t achieve that, it will be difficult to sustain the free trade area. Benefits must be seen by our people in individual countries,” says President Hichilema.

Delegates have heard that it took decades for the European Union to ensure that 70% of its trade is among member states.

Ramaphosa says he looks forward to seeing the Made in Africa label on goods that are bought locally.

VIDEO: The second Intra-African Trade Fair in Durban kicks off

 

 

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