Africa Union's Commissioner Albert Muchanga has outlined the increase of Ethiopia's role in promoting intra-African trade in an interview to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) published on Thursday.
Recent initiation of Ethiopia’s wheat exportation and energy supply to neighboring states is enhancing African interstate trade and speeding the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation, Albert Muchanga stated.
He has noted that the state has moved forward in ensuring food security and increasing its wheat production.
“Ethiopia was able to attain sufficiency in wheat production by getting credits from the African Development Bank and the increased investment, which is agribusiness …and now they are able to export to the rest of the region; that is intra-African trade. One of the critical questions of Africa is energy; it can be electricity, oil or gas. So for countries that can trade their surplus energy to the rest of Africa is most welcome; that is intra-Africa trade. That is what we want,” he stated.
While speaking to ENA, Muchanga also elaborated on the AfCFTA implementation, noting that the planned common external tariff in the continent will positively influence the process.
“When we create a customs union, it means that we have united, integrated the customs regime of all the African countries; that is why it is called a customs union. …And it creates bigger, more integrated market,” he outlined.
As of now, according to the commissioner, the African Union is assessing the customs union readiness for removing tariffs barriers.
The statement comes as Ethiopia signed a contract earlier this year to export 300,000 tons of wheat to six countries, including Kenya and Sudan.
Most recently, Ethiopian Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide announced that the nation was preparing to seal a deal to supply $200 million of wheat to non-governmental organizations, including the UN World Food Programme, as Addis Ababa managed to overcome its dependence on wheat imports.