Traders Association Seeks Better Trade Policies In Africa

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Traders in Africa want better transportation infrastructure and sufficient trade policies countries, which they are optimistic would reverberate intra-African trade.

Speaking on the need to boost Intra African trade, the National President of the National Association of Nigerian Traders, (NANTS), Mr Ken Ukaoha, explained the reasons why trade among African states remains low.

“The absence of trade infrastructure, and I can tell you, for instance, if you look at the whole of West Africa, you don’t find rail lines moving from one country to another, intra-regional rail lines.

“And therefore goods are moved from one bush, one forest to another and that is the reason why almost all trades within the region are still informal, are still undertaken under the informal structure.

“And then, if you move towards the African continent as a whole, we do not find a common policy that holds us together on trade, and that’s another problem, because we have regimented kind of trade policies that are individualistic, that are looking at individual countries, autonomous countries and we have not made very serious attempts at coming together to say look, we bind ourselves towards engaging in trade irrespective of the boundaries,” he explained.

He also pointed out the disharmony in existing trade policies in West Africa, a situation he said had caused poor intra-African trade.

“ECOWAS till today, as we speak, does not have a common trade policy.

“We only have individual trade policies and of course Nigeria, my own countries, we don’t even have a trade policy that is binding now, as we speak. The last trade policy that we had in Nigeria was in 2002 and up till now we do not have one as a country.

“But then as a region, you find out that we do not have a common trade policy that harmonises all the trade policies of the 15-member countries of ECOWAS together is lacking. Therefore, you ask yourself, if you do not have such trade policy which is like a compass to navigate trade, so how do you then trade among yourselves? And that is the reason why trade volume intra regionally within west Africa remains abysmally at about 10 to 12%.

In spite of ongoing efforts at regional integration, trade within African states on the continent remains at about 12%, while the bulk of Africa’s export is with foreign partners, majorly the European Union.