Afreximbank seeks to improve Africa's access to U.S. market

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said it has embarked on a project aimed at improving Africa's access to the U.S. market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a statement emailed to Xinhua on Tuesday said.

Benedict Oramah, the bank's president said that despite the size of the United States market and the preferential access granted to African countries for 15 years under AGOA, the continent had remained a marginal player in that market, a situation that raises fundamental questions on why it was failing to penetrate the market.

He said product diversification had been singled out as a key hindrance to Africa's access to the U.S. market, and announced that the bank has identified the development of industrial parks and special economic zones as a strategic path to accelerating the industrialization of African economies and diversifying exports.

The bank, he said, has also started an initiative to improve product standards on the continent with the aim of facilitating access to both the U.S. and other markets.

According to figures, Africa currently accounts for only two percent of U.S. trade and the supply side constraints include unreliable electricity and transportation, poor ports, lack of transnational highway, and poor access to the Internet, among others.

Other hindrances include low intra-Africa trade, which result in low economies of scale, and the difficulties faced by Africa producers in meeting U.S. agricultural and other standards. Endit