Benedict Oramah, president of the African Export-Import Bank
The size of intra-African trade could be
doubled from the current $170 billion (about Sh17.6 trillion) a year to
almost $400 billion (Sh41 trillion) through market information,
Benedict Oramah, president of the African Export-Import Bank
(Afreximbank) has said.
Dr Oramah said lack of
knowledge on the continent and limited access to trade information among
Kenyan and African businesses is a major constraint to cross-border
trade.
He cited a study on the regional value chains
for leather and leather products, commissioned by Afreximbank, UNCTAD
and the Commonwealth Secretariat, which found Kenya imported raw hides
from New Zealand yet Burundi exported the same to the world at a much
lower price.
Better quality
The
study established West African countries on average imported meat worth
more than $3 billion (about Sh311 billion) annually from Argentina and
Australia while Mali, Chad and Sudan could supply all the meat
requirement.
It noted Australia is the main source of
tanned hides and skins for southern Africa, including South Africa, even
though Zambia exports its better quality stuff at lower costs.
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