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Ph:DR: Value chains, whether regional or global, represent the new face of international trade.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Sub-regional Office for West Africa, in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is organizing from 12 to 13 June in Dakar a regional workshop to review the draft report of the study on opportunities for regional value chains in West Africa in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAf).
This two-day workshop aims to: review and enrich the draft report of the study on the main value chain opportunities in West Africa; inform and mobilize the actors involved, in particular the private sector and their apex structures at the regional level, on the project for the development of value chains in West Africa in the context of the ZLECAf; agree on a sub-regional roadmap on the implementation of the recommendations of the study and in particular the development of value chains in West Africa, in line with ECOWAS initiatives in this area.
Value chains, whether regional or global, represent the new face of international trade. They are booming and now account for nearly half of total world trade. They are associated with various benefits, including poverty reduction, income generation, structural transformation and inclusive growth. For example, a 1% increase in trade through value chains has been shown to lead to a more than 1% increase in a country’s per capita income, which is more than twice the income gain attributed to ordinary trade (reference: World Bank, World Development Report 2020).
With the advent of the AfCFTA, intra-regional trade is expected to increase significantly. Indeed, according to ECA simulations, the implementation of the AfCFTA should generate by 2045 an increase in intra-African trade of 33.8% (against only less than 20% in 2020). This should result in an increase in trade in agri-food products by 41.1%, industrial products by 39.0%, energy and mining by 16.10% and services by 39.2%. In the ECOWAS region, the effective implementation of the agreement should generate more gains than at the regional level, i.e. more than 32% of the gains at the continental level, particularly in terms of intra-African trade, including at the level sectors with high potential for added value, GDP and well-being.
Representatives of regional and national private sector organizations, ministries in charge of trade, industrialization, SMEs/SMIs, agriculture, various national and regional trade committees (ZLECAf, trade facilitation, etc. ), regional organizations (ECOWAS, UEMOA, AfCFTA Secretariat, etc.), and United Nations organizations such as ECA, UNDP, UNCTAD, ITC, UNIDO will take part in this workshop.
About ECA
Created in 1958 by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, ECA is one of the five regional commissions of the Institution and has the mandate to support the economic and social development of its member States, to encourage regional integration and promote international cooperation for Africa’s development.
Comprised of 54 member states, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) plays a dual role as a regional body of the United Nations (UN) and as an integral part of the regional institutional landscape in Africa.
