High poverty, inflation, debt, sluggish economic growth, ongoing conflicts, and the lingering impacts of the pandemic continue to hinder economic integration in Africa, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has said.
UNECA in its report released on Thursday said despite significant progress in implementing the AfCFTA, intra-African trade is still low standing at about 14.6 percent.
The slow economic integration in Africa has jeopardised the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the statement said.
It said multiple factors that contribute to low intra-African trade must be addressed. These include weak regional integration, low economic diversification, low quantity and quality of value-added products and services, poor infrastructure and high transportation costs, cumbersome customs procedures and clearance processes and limited information exchange.
The adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement by the AU in 2018 is expected to help address these problems and accelerate intra-African trade.
However, predictions of the gains from operationalisation of AfCFTA suggest they will be skewed in favor of a few countries that have more advanced manufacturing and services sectors and those with better-developed infrastructures including seaports, airports, and railways systems.
Thus, a fundamental question of how AfCFTA can benefit all African countries through facilitating economic integration among countries of the continent is not well addressed, the report said.
MG/as/APA