The African Development Bank estimates that the cost to transport a container from Durban (South Africa) to Lusaka (Zambia) - 1,633 kilometers/ 1,015
miles- are USD 8,000, and 1,800 from Durban to Japan!.
The Regional Integration in Africa should facilitate the African Value Chains, both for
regional and global market.
Regional Trade and cross-border investments are a key factor for the Value Chains development in Africa
The role of the Regional Economic Communities is critical, by ex.
reducing the Technical Barriers to Trade (Rules of Origin) in Africa
The Regional Economic Communities are working in Trade Facilitation programs, but the trading cost in Africa
is not competitive in many cases.
There are good examples of improving the African Value Chains. By example...
The Cocoa Value Chain in West Africa (mainly in
Ghana and Ivory Coast, the World's largest cocoa exporter), has increased from 12% (2000) to 18.6% (2013), by liberalization and incentives programs (economic free zones), attracting the foreign investors
Today more than 1 Million people in Ivory Coast and 800,000 in Ghana work in the Cocoa Sector. Local farmers are receiving a fixed price (70% of FOB price)
The Egyptian textile sector has substantially increased his value addition, and today contributes to 27% of the Egyptian total production
According to the African Development Bank, the One-stop border post can help to reduce clearance times (Customs Procedures) at the borders.
By example, between Uganda and Kenya (Malaba), the border-crossing time has been reduced from 24 hours (2011) to 4 hours (2012)
In Chirundu (border post Zimbabwe - Zambia) the One-stop border post, part of the North-South Corridor, the time for cross the border for
lorries has been reduced from 3 days to 2 hours
Sample - Shoprite (African largest food retailer)
South Africa: