Regional Trade in Africa: Drivers, Trends and Opportunities

Renewable energy and sustainable agriculture are 

the 2 streams for the Africa-EU Business Forum 
in November 2017 said R. Ridolfi

3 February 2017. Brussels. ACP Secretariat. This Briefing was organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), in collaboration with IFPRI, the European Commission / DEVCO, the ACP Secretariat, and CONCORD.

• Programme and Background Note
• Biodata of the speakers

In order to maximise the benefits of regional integration and look for new opportunities for competitiveness, policymakers, the private sector and development partners need access to accurate and comprehensive data on intra and inter-regional trade in Africa with respect to agricultural goods.

It is in this context that CTA and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched the“African Agricultural Trade Status Report”, which examines the current status, trends and outlook in African trade performance, making an important contribution towards data and analysis of developments both at regional and at continental levels.

The Report, which was released in conjunction with the Briefing, builds on the work by the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) of CAADP and the African Growth and Development Policy Modeling Consortium (AGRODEP) trade and also reflects the CTA’s commitment to advancing knowledge and sharing of best practices relating to agricultural trade.

African Agricultural Trade Status Report 2017

– Executive Summary– Chapter 1. Introduction
– Chapter 2. Africa global trade patterns
– Chapter 3. Regional trade patterns
– Chapter 4. Competitiveness of African agricultural exports
– Chapter 5. Determinants of African agricultural exports
– Chapter 7. West Africa trade outlook: business as usual vs alternative options
– Chapter 8. Summary and conclusions

Panel 1: Overview of Africa regional trade

• Trends in African regional trade, Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) [presentation|video]
• Innovative finance for agriculture transformation ; Josephine Mwangi, Manager, Agriculture & Agro-Industry Dept, African Development Bank [presentation|video]
• New opportunities for regional trade within the EPAs implementation; Sandra Gallina, Director for Sustainable Development, DG Trade at the European Commission [presentation|video]
• Challenges and successes in implementing regional trade agreements ; Dominique Njinkeu, Executive Director, African Trade and Sustainable Development (AFTSD) [presentation|video]

Panel 2: Implementing regional trade: successes and opportunities ahead

• Growth opportunities for the private sector in East Africa as a result of regional integration ; Annette Mutaawe, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, TradeMark East Africa [presentation|video]
• New opportunities in regional trade ; Argent Chuula, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) [presentation|video]
• Promoting regional trade through PPPs and agribusiness development ; Ishmael Sunga, CEO, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) [presentation|video]
• Investment opportunities and PPPs ; Nana Osei-Bonsu, CEO, the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), Ghana [presentation|video]

Web stream of the conference