Business
AfCFTA: Nigeria at advance stage of establishing trade recovery remedy authority – Secretary-General
Wene has described the AfCFTA as a driver for Africa’s recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Secretary-General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Mr Wamkele Mene, has disclosed that Nigeria is on the verge of registering a trade remedy recovery authority which he says is a major leap for the agreement.
The AfCFTA boss made this disclosure at a courtesy visit to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Friday in Lagos, as he stated that the AfCFTA will lift Africa from the effects of the pandemic.
“With COVID-19, we went from that to a contraction of a magnitude that we have not had in about 30 years,” he said, citing that 6 out of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world were African before the pandemic.
“But with the objectives of the AfCFTA, by 2035, by dabbling into Africa trade, Africa is on the path to industrial development and we are building a capacity to diversify our exports within and outside the continent,” he added.
He revealed that the International Monetary Fund stated that Africa will have positive growth by 2022 if the vaccine roll-out strategy comes just in time for the implementation of the AfCFTA.
He also said that trade remedies would be needed for the implementation of the agreement to prevent issues of dumping and disputes related to free trade.
“At the moment, only two countries – Egypt and South Africa – have their trade remedy authorities ready, and this has the ability to prevent dumping and address many other challenges associated with inter-African trade.
“Nigeria is at the advance stage of establishing a trade recovery remedy authority and this is a very positive step,” he said.
He urged for collaboration with the private sector and African governments to increase capacity to facilitate African trade, especially with customs agreements, as it would ensure discipline and make the rollout more efficient.
What you should know
- Nairametrics recently reported that the Nigerian government announced that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would help reduce illegal mining in the country and also standardize Mining practices in Nigeria.
- PriceWaterCoopers Nigeria says that the Covid-19 pandemic could pose a risk to African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. It also said that African nations and relevant stakeholders could also turn the agreement into an opportunity for stronger collaboration if certain policies are pursued quickly.
Business
Lagos State seeks investors in aquatic and livestock agriculture value chain
The Commissioner revealed that the scheme was in line with the State’s five-year strategic agriculture roadmap.
The Lagos State Government announced it is seeking private sector collaboration for Agriculture sector value chain development in livestock feed mills, fisheries and red meat.
This was disclosed by the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
The Commissioner revealed that the scheme was in line with the State’s five-year strategic agriculture roadmap, as the State identified the 3 main sectors for value chain disruption.
READ: Lagos goes tough on illegal conversion of land use, enforcement begins in Ikeja GRA, Lekki, others
She also added that investment in the sectors would also develop jobs for the industry and boost the State’s GDP growth, through Private Sector collaboration as Lagos residents consume over N5 trillion worth of food annually.
“The objective is to stimulate and encourage more public-private partnerships in the three value chains,” she said.
“When you consider this pool of transactions happening in Lagos, it shows that we are the market. For instance, we demand over 400,000 metric tons of fish on an annual basis.
“But our fishermen and our aquaculture farmers are only able to produce just about 174,000 metric tons with deficit of 200,000 metric tons,” she added.
READ: CBN invests over N120 billion on 320,000 farmers across CTG within four years
She also disclosed that the state has 9,000 artisanal fishermen, and bringing more youths into the space will increase the level of fish and seafood being harnessed from our water bodies. Looking at the transactional value on an annual basis, the fisheries sector is worth well over N120billion according to her.
In case you missed it: Nigeria exported agricultural products worth N321.5 billion in 2020, representing a 19.16% increase when compared to N269.8 billion recorded in 2019 and a 6.27% increase compared to N302.28 billion recorded in 2018.
Business
#DigitalSkillsTraining: FG announces conclusion of selection process
Only successful applicants that are contacted by the Ministry are to report at the training venue.
