Development of trade in Africa: promoting exports through quality and product safety

This detailed report takes as its context the rapid rise in global trade and the development of international supply chains, pointing out that Africa has seriously lagged behind in these processes, Africa’s share of world trade has declined year by year, while foreign direct investments in Africa are also low.

The report argues that:

• one important reason why developing countries in Africa have only been able to benefit from the positive effects of global trade to a small extent, are the nontariff barriers
• there is still dramatic tariff escalation on many of the processed African agricultural products
• without such rates, there would have been many more factories in Africa producing for export to the EU
• the project: Trade – an opportunity for reducing poverty in Africa sets out a strategy for a co-operation programme with the countries of Africa to promote economic development and trade, while at the same time ensuring safe products in domestic markets
• the purpose of the project is to devise a strategic development plan with particular emphasis on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and other quality and product safety issues
• all conditions for export have to be satisfied at the same time and the report develops this requirement into the "Just-in-Time Export Strategy".

The report sets out the findings and recommendations for this project. It describes the position of Africa in international trade and goes on to outline a set of strategies for an international development programme. Specific recommendations are made for each element at the African level and the international level. The report stresses that a particular set of elements, including compliance with international requirements, attention to customers' needs and awareness of the particular market for a product int terms of competiveness, are necessary for the development of a successful export business. However, it notes that there are many areas that need to be addressed, including poor quality and product safety in some cases, gaps and delays in the logistics chain and lack of local government support.

Part two of the report describes the development programme proposed to address these issues. This includes:

• awareness-building around mechanisms of change
• systems for ensuring consistency of quality and safety, particularly in view of international standards
• participation in worldwide organisations as a way to garner peer support

The report stresses, finally, that implementation is the key to the success of this development plan, and that industrial countries must be prepared to support the planning and implementation process.

[Note: this document is 8 mb in size]