The selection: Friday, 9 December 2016

International trade and integration: the latest research (World Bank Blogs)

What’s the latest research in international trade and integration? Researchers from the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO recently gathered for a one-day workshop to present their latest research on the topic. The papers presented addressed topical questions in areas as diverse as the links between trade, wage inequality and the poor, global value chains, non-tariff measures, preferential trade agreements, FDI restrictions, and migration. We provide a quick roundup on the papers presented during the workshop.

Namibia: 2016 Article IV Consultation documentation (IMF)

Namibia has experienced strong growth and economic stability, but faces significant challenges and structural issues. Public debt is rising and reserve coverage is below safe levels. Banks’ balance sheets appear robust, but rising housing prices and household indebtedness pose macro-financial concerns. Deep-rooted structural problems have kept unemployment and income inequality unacceptably high. [Namibia: Selected Issues Paper, pdf]

Namibia: National Quality Policy update (UNIDO)

UNIDO has helped Namibia formulate a national policy that will help the country develop its quality infrastructure, conformity assessment, international trade and technical regulatory framework. The new policy will improve Namibia’s international competitiveness and lead to enhanced export performance. It will also support small and medium enterprises in conforming to national standards and complying with technical regulations, thus contributing to economic growth. The final document, the National Quality Policy, a result of extensive stakeholder consultations that were supported by UNIDO, was today officially handed over to the office of Immanuel Ngatjizeko, Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development. [Project documentation]

Zimbabwe’s economy to grow by 1,7% in 2017: Chinamasa (NewsDay)

Presenting the $4,1 billion 2017 national budget yesterday, Chinamasa said the economy was projected to grow by 0,6% this year but would improve next year. The growth projection is a sober one after Treasury had earlier forecast a growth rate of 4,8% in its strategic paper. Revenue will be $3,7 billion leaving a financing gap of $400 million, Chinamasa said. [Budget documentation available for download]

South Africa-China Economic and Trade Association report: investment profile (China Daily)

According to the report on the development of Chinese enterprises in South Africa unveiled by the South Africa-China Economic and Trade Association, there are more than 300 Chinese companies including representative offices in South Africa and among them about 140 are large and medium-sized companies. The Chinese companies have been involved in such fields as real estate, mining, automobiles, finance, construction, textile, logistics and household appliances, the report said. By the end of 2015, Chinese investment in South Africa reached about $13bn. The Chinese enterprises employed more than 26,000 people in South Africa, of whom 24,000 were locals, the report said.

Nigeria: FG questions complications on ECOWAS external trade agreements (Business Day)

The Federal Government has raised an alarm, just like the Senate raised recently, on some complications in the ECOWAS external trade liberalisation agreements, which it alleged was being abused to a greater extent by some neighbouring countries. Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, on Monday, said there were complications in the ECOWAS trade liberalisation agreements, which appeared exploitative to the Nigerian economy with the largest market size among member countries. “From a record I have, there are about 571,000 tons of rice waiting to be smuggled into Nigeria for the Christmas from the borders of Benin Republic. The Republic of Benin doesn’t eat par-boiled rice, they eat white rice, and yet all the rice crossing the Republic borders into Nigeria is par boiled. I have a list now of all the ships that left Thailand in the last seven weeks, and are arriving now. Key of which is 571,000 tons or rice now waiting to enter Nigeria for Christmas. The whole list is on my table.”

The impact of regional integration on Nigeria’s imports: a case of ECOWAS Common External Tariff on agro-processing (tralac)

This study looks particularly at the impact of the ECOWAS regional trade agreement on trade and agro-processing in Nigeria. To complement this, the effect of a possible ECOWAS-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement on trade, revenue and welfare is examined as well. The study defined four tariff liberalisation scenarios: [The analysts: Oluwadamilola O. Oluwusi, Cecilia Punt, Ron Sandrey]

‘Nigeria risks becoming dumping ground if free trade zones don’t function’ (Premium Times)

Nigeria risks becoming a dumping ground for countries in the West African sub-region if the country’s export free trade zones are not allowed to function to meet international standards. The Executive Secretary, African Free Zones Association, Chris Ndibe, said in Abuja on Monday that with most trade zones in the neighbouring West African sub-region, particularly Ghana and Togo thriving, Nigeria will end up being the dumping ground. “Our neighbouring countries, especially in West Africa, are doing very well,” Mr. Ndibe said. “What they are doing is that they have Nigeria as their market, and their free zones. Togo next door is gearing up also. Ghana has the highest number of free zones in Africa. The single factory zones scheme that were frustrated in Nigeria is booming in Ghana."

Nigeria’s non-oil export trade under-reported, says expert (The Nation)

Mr Shehu Abdulkadir, the Managing Director, Casmine Assayer, an export supervisory firm in Lagos, said Nigeria non-oil export trade was under-reported. Abdulkadir told journalists in Lagos that the informal and unreported export trading activities were 50% more than what were reported. He said that 90% of Nigerian products rejected abroad were being shipped through other African countries like Ghana and Cameroon where they were being repackaged and shipped abroad.

Nigeria looks to farming as oil boom fades and hunger sets in (Bloomberg)

The government plans to capitalize the state-owned Bank of Agriculture Ltd. with 1 trillion naira ($3.2bn) so it can lend to farming projects at less than half the commercial rate. It’s also working with the African Development Bank and World Bank to set up staple crop-processing zones with the electricity and roads needed to attract more private-sector money. Nigeria spent more than 1 trillion naira importing food last year, according to the statistics bureau’s data on foreign trade, and an income squeeze caused by the fall in crude prices and output is forcing the government to diversify its economy. Poor yields and war disrupting agriculture in the northeast has left 37% of children in Nigeria malnourished, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh said.

World Competition Day debate in Accra: Cement market - issue of competition or unfair trade practice? (GhanaWeb)

Justice Date-Bah was of the view that the recent agitations in the cement industry should serve as an indication to policy makers the need for a fully functional competition and unfair trade practice law to regulate the conduct of the market players. A trade policy analyst at CUTS Ghana, Mr Abubakari Zakari, stressed on the important role that the government plays in ensuring affair and competitive market through the application of the WTO measures. He called for the full operationalization of the Ghana International Trade Commission to investigate the claims being made by the local cement manufacturers.

Sahel and West Africa Week (12-16 December, Abuja): Placed under the political and technical leadership of ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS, the 32nd annual meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) will place strong emphasis on the region’s food and nutrition challenges.

West Africa Regional Energy Co-operation Summit (25-27 January): Conference sessions will focus on regional co-operation and power delivery, the importance of gas in accelerating the pace of regional development, the role of the private sector and innovative methods for project financing. Siengui Ki, Executive Director of West Africa Power Pool and ECOWAS, will showcase successful case studies and present live projects seeking investment.

West Africa Regional Supply and Market Outlook: 7 December (FewsNet)

Crop prospects and food situation (FAO)

Tanzania: Tough conditions for foreigners eyeing land for business (The East African)

Tanzania is working on a new land policy that will reduce leases of land owned by foreigners from 99 years to 33 years. The Draft National Land Policy, seen by The EastAfrican, which has been subjected to public scrutiny by the Ministry of Lands and Settlement Development, is expected to be adopted early next year. [Sh20tr cement investment on the cards: govt]

Central Africa’s industrial transformation need not be cut-and-paste (UNECA)

Today’s dialogue [in Libreville] is one in a series being organised across Central Africa by ECA to encourage countries of the sub-region to stay the course of structural transformation which involves dynamically moving from low-value agrarian economic structures to productive agriculture, manufacturing and quality services. This is seen as the pathway way towards inclusive growth and sustainable development. The next ECA debate on Structural transformation in Central Africa is slated for Brazzaville, Congo, on 15 December 2016. It will dwell on improving transport infrastructure to leverage such a transformation in the country.

SEWA to tap trade linkages with five African cooperatives (Indian Express)

City-based Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is set to explore trade linkages with five African nations (South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania) under the aegis of its six-year-long ‘SETU Africa programmes’ to help strengthen their women cooperatives. This comes in the wake of a delegation of 15 Tanzanian union Self Help Group leaders and NGO coordinators who are in Ahmedabad this week to study SEWA’s organising of informal workers. They will implement the same into their own Membership-Based Organisations like unions and cooperatives.

Crowding the private sector into Africa’s climate action (Premium Times)

At the supra-national level, the African Risk Capacity was founded in 2012 as an agency of the African Union with the mandate to finance climate resilience and crisis response. In line with its mandate, the ARC is planning to create an Extreme Climate Facility, which will issue multi-peril, climate change catastrophe bonds. The securitisation instruments will bring scale and knowhow to Africa’s climate risk management and climate change adaptation efforts, with tremendous benefits to the agriculture sector. XCF’s catastrophe bonds are expected to attract not only investment from indigenous African banks but also from international financial institutions. One hopes that the XCF will soon become a reality, and the rigorous risk modelling it plans to have in place will serve other market initiatives. [The author, Chinedu Moghalu, is head of corporate communication, Nigerian Export-Import Bank]

IMF Work Programme priorities: The following four objectives are set out in the Work Program: how we guide the global policy dialogue; two, how we identify policy space and enhanced resilience. Three, how we assess in promoting global prosperity; and fourth, making multilateralism work for all.

G20 in focus: In this portal (a project of the Heinrich Böll Foundation), you will find infographics and comparative interactive maps that help you learn about the G20 countries, how the G20 works and what is on its agenda. In addition, studies and working papers provide insights into specific aspects of the G20 priorities.

AfDB’s North Africa 2016 Annual Report: This annual report presents for each country and for each Bank financed-project, how the institution supports North Africa to meet these five priorities. Moreover, the report presents in the thematic section progress but also short and medium term issues and challenges that countries face and which influence the progresses made in achieving the objectives of the five priorities set by the Bank [Download (pdf)]

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