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Eveline de Klerk
WINDHOEK – According to a report, Namibia ranks second in Africa in terms of the countries that contributed to intra-African trade in 2017.
Gainmore Zanamwe, Senior Director Afrexibank, indicates that Namibia contributed six percent to intra-African trade, with South Africa leading with a 26 percent contribution.
He presented the statistics at the opening of the third edition of the SADC Industrialization Week which started yesterday at the Safari Conference Center in Windhoek
Nigeria comes in third place with 4.5%. SADC countries Zambia, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique are also among the top 10 African countries that contribute the most to intra-African trade.
Overall, SADC contributed 20% However, Zanamwe says that trade in Africa is still very low compared to other regions like Asia, Europe and the United States. ;America.
"So we still have a big challenge as Africa, only countries that have been successful in increasing intraregional trade have managed to transform their economies and grow, so we need to look more closely at our policies. and trade facilitation, not individually, but continentally and regionally ". According to Zanamwe, SADC, although ranked first in terms of regional trade, still has a long way to go
"SADC is not doing badly compared to other regions, but intra-regional trade remains very weak We have to increase it, even if things are not rosy from an interregional point of view, "Zanamwe explained.
He added that for countries to effectively develop and support value chains, they need to look at key areas of compensation, trade facilitation issues, and infrastructure.
"These are critical elements that we can not choose to ignore.You must also review the standards because the markets you provide would like you to comply with certain standards because you do not would not be able to penetrate the value chain and jeopardize intra-African trade, "he said. The SADC Industrialization Week will be held under the theme "Promoting Infrastructure Development and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development".
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) claims that one of the main reasons about 15% compared to Europe (59%), Asia (51% ) and North America (37%) due to lack of access to commercial and commercial information.
To meet this challenge, Afreximbank has decided initiatives, convene the Intra-African Trade Show every two years to provide information on trade and market and connect buyers and sellers from across the continent.
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