Automotive industry offers opportunity to boost intra-African trade

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat said the automotive industry is one of four priority sectors that offer opportunities to boost intra-African trade. A representative of the secretariat, Themba Khumalo, said this during the Auto Forum held on the third day of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2023) in Cairo, Egypt.

He emphasised that extensive research highlighted the potential of the automotive sector to drive increased trade among countries. Khumalo said improved logistics was the most important factor to boost the automotive industry, and Africa already spends $47 billion on transport and logistics.

The development of efficient trade and transport corridors, customs procedures, and the use of modern technology to facilitate trade in the African market were also key to boosting intra-continental imports and exports, he added. “We work with partners to solve issues, and one of the solutions is establishing trade corridors. “We cannot focus on everything at the same time, but we focus on success factors,” Khumalo said.

According to the AfCFTA secretariat, Ghana is in the process of developing a policy for industrialisation, with a specific focus on automobile manufacturing, a plan that Afreximbank could support.