BEIJING: To fully capitalize on China’s zero-tariff treatment for African exports, African countries should strengthen productivity, develop regional value chains and expand value addition and processing of agricultural and mineral products, experts said.
Speaking during a webinar hosted late last month by the Ghana-based Africa-China Centre for Policy & Advisory, experts said the policy presents African exporters with an opportunity to expand access to the Chinese market.
However, they cautioned that tariff removal alone would not be enough to significantly increase African exports, as businesses continue to face other barriers, including limited productive capacity, infrastructure gaps, certification requirements and logistics challenges.
Linda Calabrese, an economist at ODI Global, an independent think tank, said countries should focus on products they can produce competitively and for which there is strong demand in China.
“Think about what you can gain now, but overall, your bigger prize should be building your productivity, capacity as an efficient producer, and exporting more,” she said.
Calabrese said African countries should use the tariff advantage while simultaneously investing in their long-term productive capacity, infrastructure, standards and logistics.
She identified agriculture and agro-processing as areas with significant potential, saying greater processing of commodities such as coffee and cocoa within Africa could help countries move up the value chain.
“Agro-processing is a path to industrialization,” she said.
She cited timber as another example, saying African countries could move from exporting raw timber to producing higher-value goods such as furniture.
Similar opportunities exist in the mining sector, where she said countries should process minerals domestically rather than primarily export raw materials.
However, Calabrese cautioned that tariff removal alone would not guarantee increased exports, with African businesses still facing challenges related to certification, transportation, cold-chain infrastructure and competition from efficient producers in other parts of the world. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
