Pan-African Manufacturers Lament Low Intra-Africa Trade

The President of the Pan-African Manufacturers Association, PAMA, Mansur Ahmed has expressed concern about the low intra-Africa trade.

Speaking at the association’s second executive committee meeting and the relaunch of the PAMA on the sidelines of the Intra-African Trade Fair in Cairo, Egypt, Ahmed said 10 years after the launch of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, intra-African trade was below 18 per cent.

According to him, many African economies struggle with underdevelopment, low productivity, and minimal value addition, leaving a large portion of the population in poverty.

To change this narrative, Ahmed stated that transformation was required across every sector, especially manufacturing.

He further stated that both the public and private sectors must make sustained efforts to successfully implement AFCFTA and attain Agenda 2063’s objectives.

He pointed out that institutions like Afreximbank, AFDB, AFC, and others were already playing crucial roles in that effort