South Africa Celebrates First AfCFTA Export to Ghana Amidst Global Trade Disruptions
In a sign of the growing importance of intra-African trade and as a beacon of what the future holds under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, South Africa has recently marked a significant milestone with its first shipment of goods to Ghana. This event comes at a time when the world is grappling with disruptions to conventional trade routes, unpredictable shipping durations, and surging freight costs, notably affected by the conflict in the Red Sea region.
The African continent, comprising 1.3 billion individuals and a combined gross GDP nearing $3.4 trillion, is steadily revealing itself as a fertile ground for trading goods. The AfCFTA stands at the center of this landscape, offering a wide array of business prospects both for the current and future scenarios, deeply rooted in the essence of reducing dependency on non-African imports.
Philip Myburgh, a senior figure at the Standard Bank Group, emphasized the transformative impact of AfCFTA, highlighting not just the reduction in necessity for imports from outside Africa but how preferential tariff rates under AfCFTA could spearhead growth across the continent. “The AfCFTA has the prowess to propel South Africa’s economy forward, ushering in new employment opportunities and fostering economic inclusivity,” Myburgh noted.
He added, “The inaugural shipment of goods to Ghana under the AfCFTA, encompassing forged grinding balls and high chrome grinding media products destined for various industries, heralds a new chapter in South Africa’s trade relations. Yet, it also opens up a discourse on the numerous unexplored markets within the agreement’s framework.”
Ghana’s strategic location along the west coast of Africa, complemented by its two deepwater ports, Takoradi and Tema, not only benefits seaborne trade from South Africa but also serves as a gateway to the greater West African market. This creates a bilateral bridge of opportunity, highlighting prospects like South African poultry and meat products, maize, and sugar to Ghana, and in return, Ghana’s cocoa products, frozen fish, and shea butter to the South African market.
Myburgh also shed light on the burgeoning relationship between South Africa and the AfCFTA initiative, focusing on leveraging digital trade services and cutting-edge technologies such as data science, AI, and blockchain to unlock Africa’s potential. “Our aim is to work closely with the AfCFTA steering committee to extend precise digital trade implementation insights,” explained Myburgh.
“Given Ghana’s host role for the AfCFTA headquarters and its commitment to fostering growth across the continent, it positions itself as an integral partner. This partnership is instrumental in navigating through the promising landscape of intra-African trade, which possesses untapped potential to steer the continent into becoming one of the global trade powerhouses,” Myburgh concluded.
The celebration of the first AfCFTA export from South Africa to Ghana not only exemplifies the tangible benefits of the AfCFTA agreement but also emphasizes the continent’s unwavering commitment towards a unified and prosperous African future.
