Inception Workshop on Mainstreaming Gender into Trade Policy

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Inception Workshop onMainstreaming Gender into
Trade Policy

• 21-22 April 2009, Addis Ababa
• Overview of Intra-African Trade

By Daniel A. Tanoe NEPAD Regional Integration
Division, ECA
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Introduction

• OUTLINE
• Importance of Intra-African trade
• Africas export and import patterns
• Challenges of intra-African trade
• Some basic facts on Informal sector trade in
  Africa

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Why intra-African trade is important

• AU vision - A common continental market for goods
  and services.
• Common Market makes sense for Africas 53 mostly
  small economies.
• Trade as an engine of growth
• More trade within Africa Retention of wealth

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Africas export and import patterns

• Africa's export and import patterns by RECs
  (Regional Economic Communities)

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Africas export and import patterns

• Intra-REC exports (percent)
• (Average between 2000-2005)

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Africas export and import patterns

• Exports to the rest of Africa ()
• ((Average between 2000-2005)
• )?

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Africas export and import patterns

• Intra-REC imports ()
• (Average between 2000-2005)
• Source ECA, compiled from IMF DOT 2006

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Africas export and import patterns

• Imports from Rest of Africa ()
• (Average between 2000-2005)
• )?
• ?
• Source ECA, compiled from IMF DOT 2006

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Africas export and import patternsGrowth trends
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Africas export and import patterns

• Intra-REC indices of export trends
• (base year 2000)?

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Exports to AfricaCountries Performance
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Exports to AfricaCountries Performance

• Share of exports within Africa ()
• (Average between 2000-2005

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Imports from AfricaCountries Performance
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Imports from AfricaCountries Performance

• Share of imports from Africa ()
• (Average between 2000-2005)

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Africas export and import patterns

• Africas merchandise exports

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Africas export and import patterns

• African merchandise exports

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Overall Intra-African Trade Picture

• Persistently small intra-African trade,
  consistently under 15 per cent.
• Dependence on developed countries
• Heavy export reliance on fuels and minerals

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Challenges of intra-African trade

• Highlights

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Challenges of intra-African trade

• African countries desirous to encourage trade
  among themselves
• However, on the whole, with a few exceptions, not
  much progress has been made on intra-African
  trade

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Challenges of intra-African trade

• Nature of African economies /Supply side
• Inadequate trade related infrastructure
• Trade facilitation challenges

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Informal Sector tradein Africa Some basic facts

• Mainly unregistered trade across borders based on
  popular demand and supply
• Often referred to as illicit trade or classified
  as smugglers
• Participants and beneficiaries are usually people
  and communities along border lines and adjacent
  areas
• It terms of gender, it includes both female and
  men of all ages
• Large numbers of women are often observed
  transporting goods on their backs and heads
  across borders
• Such unregistered trade is often not reported in
  national accounts and does not pay tax
• Goods traded informally once in the country
  sometimes find themselves in licensed/registered
  shops by registered traders
• Goods traded include agricultural products,
  clothing, shoes, electronics
• Informal sector traders are often subjected to
  harassment by customs officers and police, and
  seizure of goods
• Financing of informal trade is mostly through own
  savings and credits from friends and relatives as
  bank loans are not easily accessible to small
  traders.

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Informal sector trade (Basic Facts contd)

• Century-old practice
• People and communities of regions want to
  interact and trade without governmental
  interference or requirement for formal
  registration for such trade
• Informal trade sustains livelihoods and meets
  basic needs
• Failure of state in fulfilling the needs of the
  poor and border communities compels informal
  trade
• Long distances from national central markets
• Alternate market outlets for better prices
• Avoidance of heavy taxes, customs duties, levies
  and other charges including solicitation of
  bribery by Government officials
• Avoidance of stoppages and searches at several
  road blocs that may involve unloading and loading
  even of people, causing waste of time.

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Informal sector trade (contd)

• Magnitudes of informal sector trade
• Difficult to give exact magnitudes because of its
  unrecorded nature
• Available data mostly based on sample case
  studies estimates from particular short
  periods, and thus the picture is mostly
  incomplete.
• Some estimates suggest that the value of
  unrecorded/informal exports could be as high as
  25 of total formal exports. (e.g. Informal
  cross-border trade survey report by Uganda Bureau
  of Statistics, June 2006.

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Lessons

• Lower customs duties and taxes on essential
  commodities
• Improve customs procedures and remove non-tariff
  barriers
• Systematically include issue of informal trade in
  bilateral and multilateral trade
  discussions/forums in RECs
• Bring socio-economic development to border areas
  and rural communities
• Remove frequent road blocs

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THANK YOU