FG decries 4% intra-African trade

The federal government has decried the low level of Trade between Nigeria and other African countries as the African Continent Free Trade Area Agreement nears full implementation.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite stated this yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 69th African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) Council meeting hosted by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, which had the theme “Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation-One-Standard-One Test-One Certificate-Accepted Everywhere “

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The minister who was represented by the Director, Weights and Measures in the Ministry, Mrs. Comfort Lenkat Emenb said, “The African economy remains un-industrialised, as Africa exports raw materials to import value-added goods. Two figures bear eloquent witness to this state of affairs: Africa’s share of world trade is 4% while trade between African countries represents 17% of their global trade. Africa’s low level of industrialisation explains this depressing state of affairs and it should be our collective responsibility to address the challenges which also affect our trading capacities,” the minister said.

Also speaking, the Director General of the Standards Organisation, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke said “The priority of the meeting is to promote adoption of standards across all trade sectors on the African continent and also create an enabling environment for African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement AfCFTA to thrive.”