Trade Forum launches roadshow to promote SADC-EU economic agreements
The Namibian Trade Forum (NTF) recently launched a roadshow to promote the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which was signed on 10 June 2016 with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
The agreement became the first regional EPA in Africa to be fully operational after Mozambique joined in February 2018, thus, the roadshow is aimed at, among other things, creating awareness on opportunities created by the agreement for local businesses and business operators.
Speaking at the launch, Trade Forum CEO, Ndiita Nghipondoka-Robiati, said the roadshow will intensify throughout the country, to the coast where there are several fishing companies exporting fishing products and to the South as Namibia also exports dates and grapes.
In terms of the EPA, SADC and the EU have agreed to remove import duties on a wide range of qualifying products, this essentially means that Namibia (as part of SADC and thereby the SADC-EU EPA) can import products at more competitive prices compared to products from other regions.
At the same time, it will give local exporters an opportunity to improve their competitiveness on EU markets, as they can now sell their products at competitively lower prices, as the import duties have been removed.
Namibia is a net meat exporter and the EU market is a prime niche market for Meatco and Namibia in general.
