Highlights

Export Digest: Apparel Export Performance under AGOA

17 January 2013
This article will give a statistical glimpse of Sub-Saharan Africa's performance under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA), with special focus on textiles/garments. A total of 41 Sub-Saharan Africa countries (including South Sudan) are AGOA-eligible. AGOA accords duty-free-quota-free (DFQF) treatment for eligible apparel articles made in qualifying sub-Saharan African countries through 2015.

Views: 940

Helping Laboratories Make the Grade

17 January 2013
untitled4The Southern Africa Trade Hub has made a $100,000 US grant to fund training for testing laboratories in the agro food production and processing sector. Agro food processing is a priority sector for development in Southern Africa, yet a significant roadblock remains before the sector can achieve full growth.

In order for the region to benefit fully from its agricultural resources, products from the sector must exhibit a certain level of quality and quantity, as well as conform to international standards for export. SADC countries currently employ the services of testing laboratories and certification entities, but these services are not internationally recognized. Testing must therefore occur in the importing country upon arrival at a high level of cost and inefficiency.

Views: 444

Renewable Energy Course Provides Powerful Training

17 January 2013
untitled3The Southern Africa Trade Hub and the Regional Electricity Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA) conducted a Clean Energy Policy Training Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 10-14. Thirty-eight participants from six countries—Angola, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia—attended the course facilitated by Professor Allan Brent of the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at Stellenbosch University.

The workshop was aimed at building the capacity of energy regulatory agencies, government departments, utilities and private sector players from the Southern Africa region in designing appropriate renewable energy policy briefs for the development and deployment of clean energy technologies.

Views: 448

Warehouse Receipts Help Farmers Store Up for a Better Future

17 January 2013
untitled2Across Southern Africa, smallholder farmers sell their produce right after harvest when markets are in surplus and prices are low. If they could wait to sell, they would reap the benefit of more favorable prices. With the support of the Trade Hub, the Agricultural Commodities Exchange for Africa (ACE) has developed a warehouse receipts system in Malawi. The system enables farmers to deposit their crops in a warehouse, receive a receipt for the product, and access bank loans against the receipt as collateral. The farmer thus has access to funds to cover basic needs and can wait to sell the product in response to market demand.

In order for the receipt system to work, comprehensive rules, procedures, and documentation satisfying bank requirements must be provided. On behalf of ACE, the Trade Hub rewrote the warehouse receipt process and created a credit policy model which was submitted for approval to the credit committees of participating banks.

Views: 584