Prohibitively expensive intra-African trade major impediment to continental free trade
By Adolf Kaure.
The Chief Executive of the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport), Andrew Kanime stated that the Africa Continental Free Trade Area would boost intra-African trade which is currently not sustainable.
Kanime made this statement during the nineteenth Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab lecture series on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) held in Swakopmund on Thursday.
“The lion-share of African states trade with countries from outside the continent and this is detrimental to the growing African population,” he said.
According to Kanime, a mere 15% of trade is intra-African and this is due to several trade barriers that make it difficult to trade among each other.
“It costs US$6000 to move a container from Walvis Bay to Ivory Coast, which is just around the corner. It first has to be shipped to Singapore before being transferred to Ivory Coast. However, from Walvis Bay to China it would only cost US$1400, meaning it is more than four times more expensive to trade with another African country,” said Kanime.
He further highlighted how the agreement gives African states the opportunity to increase volumes in trade.
“The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement would allow African states to remove trade barriers, so that we can trade with one another. It enables us to increase trade volumes,” he said.
The Namport Chief Executive further explained how the maritime industry would benefit from AfCFTA.
“We have a stable business environment and are politically stable. The bigger the import volumes, the more the opportunities for the rest of the population. For example, the more trucks there are, the more drivers are needed, the more fuel is needed and the more other sectors like retail and hospitality will boom. It can only benefit us because of our access to other markets,” said Kanime.
The agreement would aid the process of employment creation as well as indirectly benefit entrepreneurs and attract investors to the country.
The lecture series was held under the theme: How can the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement benefit the Erongo Region to be the preferred gateway to Africa and the world at large.”
The Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement was launched in Niamey, Niger during July 2019. As of March 2023, 46 of the 55 African Union member states had ratified and deposited the instruments of ratifications with the African Union Commission. Trading under the agreement commenced on 1 January 2021.
