Nigeria and different West African international locations collectively spend over $3 billion yearly importing meat, typically from distant suppliers comparable to Australia, regardless of the area’s ample livestock assets.
The revelation has reignited requires stronger regional commerce integration and regionally pushed worth chains below the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA).
This concern was voiced by Ms. Kanayo Awani, Government Vice President for Intra-African Commerce and Export Improvement on the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), throughout a keynote handle in Lagos on Monday.
Outdated and externally oriented commerce practices
Awani criticized the continued dependence on international imports, describing it as a symptom of outdated and externally oriented commerce practices rooted in colonial historical past.
“Traditionally, Africa’s commerce patterns have been hardwired to look outward, for equipment from Europe, textiles from Asia, and meals from the Americas, whereas ignoring the gold in its personal yard,” she acknowledged.
“West Africa spends $3 billion yearly importing meat from Australia, whereas Botswana, Namibia, and Mali have surplus livestock.
“A Ghanaian shoemaker appears to Argentina for leather-based, whereas Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Burundi overflow with hides. A Senegalese grocery store shares dairy from Europe, whereas East Africa leads in milk manufacturing,” she added.
Time to Construct African Options for African Wants
Awani emphasised that the time is ripe for Africa to reverse this development and unlock the financial potential of intra-continental commerce. She advocated for constructing resilient regional worth chains that prioritize African wants, African options, and African producers.
“We should urgently flip inward, deepen our integration, and construct regional worth chains. Intra-African commerce is not a diplomatic side. It’s an crucial for survival, restoration, and long-term prosperity.”
In accordance with her, the Intra-African Commerce Truthful (IATF) has already facilitated over $100 billion in commerce and funding offers since its inception. Nigerian companies alone secured greater than $11 billion in signed offers through the 2023 version, positioning the nation as a continental chief in commerce innovation.
NEPC: Collaboration Key to Unlocking AfCFTA Potential
Additionally talking, Nonye Ayeni, Government Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), famous that intra-African commerce nonetheless accounts for lower than 15% of Africa’s complete commerce, considerably decrease than in Europe or Asia.
“We now have the land, assets, and sensible folks. What we want now are the three Cs—collaboration, dedication, and coordination,” Ayeni stated, calling for centered funding in sustainable worth chains.
She highlighted latest progress, together with a 24.7% development in Nigerian non-oil exports in Q1 of 2024 and the export of 246 agricultural merchandise to 126 international locations. As a part of NEPC’s AfCFTA technique, 20 precedence merchandise and 5 goal markets have been recognized to information nationwide commerce growth.
Ayeni added that the approval of the CFA franc as a acknowledged repatriation forex would ease transactions between Nigeria and francophone West African international locations. In an additional transfer towards formalizing regional commerce, the NEPC has additionally begun capturing casual cross-border commerce information to supply a clearer image of commerce flows and information policymaking.
What You Ought to Know
Final week, Afeximbank revealed that Nigeria and different African international locations are collectively shedding roughly $7 billion yearly to medical tourism, a development that’s draining international trade and stalling the expansion of native healthcare techniques.
- Talking on the thirty second Afreximbank Annual Conferences (AAM2025) in Abuja on Thursday, Mrs. Oluranti Doherty, Afreximbank’s Export Improvement Managing Director, stated the development was hindering financial growth and weakening native healthcare infrastructure.
- She described the rising price of medical tourism as a major drain on African economies, mentioning that Nigeria alone loses an estimated $1.1 billion yearly, whereas the continent collectively forfeits about $7 billion every year.
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