Dar es Salaam — Cashew nut farmers are putting on broad smiles as price for the crop has risen by about 6.5 per cent during the past two weeks of the ongoing marketing season. The price rise could be attributed to a slower supply amid a high demand for the produce from buyers.During the first day of the crop auctioning this season on October 31, 2019, over 20,000 tonnes of Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) was auctioned by Tandahimba and Newala Cooperative Union (Tanecu) as well as the Masasi and Mtwara Cooperative Union (Mamcu) at a minimum price of Sh2,409 and a maximum price of Sh2,559 per kilogram.That was equivalent to a decrease of 24.7 per cent on average compared to what the government offered when it bought one kilogram at Sh3,300 after buyers offered only Sh1,500 per kilogram.But in a thigh of relief to farmers, the prices have since appreciated to a maximum of Sh2,727 maximum and a minimum of Sh2,510 per kilogram.Reports from the Cashew nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) show that eight auctions have taken place in various growing regions and that over 50,000 tonnes of the product have been sold.Reports show that it was an auction by Ruangwa, Nachingwea and Liwale Cooperative Union (Runali) on November 10, 2019 that yielded a maximum price of Sh2,727 per kilogram. The auction was held at Hulia Village in Liwale District.It was the auction by Mamcu on November 3, 2019 in Michiga Village in Masasi that recorded the lowest price of Sh2510 per kilo.Buyers are demanding nearly 200,000 tonnes in the auctions but farmers supplied only over 50,000 tonnes of the produce, available reports show. Reports show that buyers were in need of procuring over 48,244 tonnes during the second auction held by Mamcu on November 3, this year but only 13,629.3 tonnes was supplied.In total, Mamcu has supplied 20,907.3 tonnes for sale including 7,278 tonnes sold during the first auction held on October 31, 2019.Buyers wanted 49,190 tonnes of the produce during the second auction that was held on November 3, but only 13,155 tonnes could be supplied."Buyers bade for 4,342.7 tonnes of cashews during the second auction by Runali. However, only 438.7 tonnes was availed," reports read.Tunduru Agriculture Marketing Cooperative Union (Tamcu) took its 1,124.8 tonnes of cashews for auctioning on November 3, 2019 but buyers demanded at least 10,802 tonnes of the produce.Lindi Mwambao also sold 1,963.002 tonnes of the produce on November 9, 2019 to nine buyers who offered a maximum and minimum price of Sh2,701 and Sh2541 per kilogram respectively.It was the first auction for Lindi Mwambao after after postponement of its earlier auction that was slated for November 1, 2019 due to insufficient quantity of the merchandise.Cooperative union leaders believe with low supply, prices will keep escalating."This is because of declining harvests registered in various cashew growing regions. For instance, Mamcu provided 13,000 tonnes during the second round of the auctions, despite demands for nearly 50,000 tonnes," Mamcu general manager, Mr Protence Rwiza, told The Citizen yesterday.He said although many buyers have been registered by the CBT, they export to the same major dealer outside the country, something which reduce competition, hence leading to lowering of prices."They mainly differ in the quantity and timeframe for the product to be delivered, hence those contracted to supply a large amount within a short period render a large market competition and provide better prices," he said.Tanecu chairman, Shaibu Aifai said farmers expected prices would hit over Sh3,500, noting however that they were disappointed with the ongoing trend."We are experiencing poor harvests this season, something that would increase buyers' competition and benefit our farmers. But things are going the opposite," he said.He said farmers were frustrated because they were of the view that there was a limited time before December when buyers usually shift to other markets.Mr Hamis Halfani, a farmer from Tandahimba said price should reach at least Sh3,500 per kilo for farmers to benefit, noting that they incur costs of production costs.The CBT acting director general, Mr Francis Alfred, said there was no reason to worry, saying price will continue increasing as buyers demand remains high.Source: Allafrica.com
The latest data from Statistics South Africa indicates that annual output came out worse than markets expected in September.Factory output contracted by 2,4 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in September after shrinking by 1,8 percent in the previous month.On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, production shrank severely to 2,4 percent from growth of 1,9 percent.The main drag came from the basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery, petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products.There was also a drop in the motor vehicles, parts and accessories as well as other transport equipment categories.Nedbank's Economic unit noted that furthermore, the Absa/ Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) remained below the 50- point level for the third consecutive month in October, suggesting poor manufacturing activity for the coming months."Anticipated growth for the year is still weak as the local and global economic environment remains subdued," Nedbank stated."The risk of load-shedding and weak labour market also signal minimal recovery for the sector in the short- to medium-term," the bank's economic unit added.The company noted global PMIs released last week continued to reflect lacklustre manufacturing conditions across all the major industrialized and developing countries, painting a bleak picture for global prospects.Mpho Tsebe, economist at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), said the declining manufacturing output also added the precarious growth outlook for the South African economy.Tsebe said the manufacturing data indicated that the sector would subtract 0,5 percentage points from the third quarter (3Q) 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) after adding 0,3 percentage points to growth in 2Q 19.This indicates that 3Q 19 GDP growth will slow from the 3.1 percent quarter-on-quarter recorded in 2Q 19.Absa economists described the September manufacturing output data as "quite disappointing."The financial house, however, stated that positively, the Absa manufacturing PMI had improved slightly in October to 48,1 from 45,1 in September."This perhaps suggests some bottoming out," Absa stated. Manufacturing is South Africa's fourth-largest industry. It contributes 15 percent to GDP and accounts for more than 13 percent of jobs.The food and beverages division is the most important player in the industry, contributing 25 percent to total manufacturing activity.Source: Allafrica.com
The 2019 edition of the WTO’s World Trade Report highlights that services have become the most dynamic component of international trade and that its role will continue to expand in the coming decades. It stresses the need to enhance cooperation in the international community to support this expansion. The report was launched during the WTO Public Forum on 9 October 2019 by Director-General Roberto Azevêdo.
“From logistics, to finance, to informatics, services have become the indispensable backbone of our economies. Services generate more than two-thirds of economic output. They account for more than two thirds of jobs in developing countries, and four-fifths of employment in developed ones.“But services also play an increasingly important role in international trade. Global value chains for merchandise could not function without logistics and communications services. And thanks to digitalization, services that once had to be delivered face-to-face, like education, can now be delivered remotely.Yet services are often overlooked in discussions on global trade, and the extent of their contributions to global trade is not always fully appreciated. This report attempts to remedy this oversight.”, said DG Azevêdo in his opening remarks.The report underlines that trade in services — ranging from distribution to financial services — can help countries boost economic growth, enhance domestic firms' competitiveness and promote inclusiveness. It illustrates how the share of services in international trade has continued to grow, and how technology, climate change, rising incomes and demographic changes will have an impact on services trade in the future. It also suggests ways to maximize the potential of services trade globally in the years to come.On average, services account for about half of GDP worldwide. For developed economies, they account for around three-quarters of GDP and their proportion is increasing rapidly in developing economies.According to the report, services trade has grown 5.4 per cent per year since 2005, while trade in goods has grown at 4.6 per cent on average. Trade in computer services and research and development have recorded the most rapid annual growth over the past decade. According to the WTO Global Trade Model, a new quantitative trade model used by the WTO to make projections about global trade, the share of services in global trade could increase by 50 per cent by 2040. This is thanks to lower trade costs and the reduced need for face-to-face interaction due to digitalization. It is also dependent on policy barriers to services trade being lowered.Many developing economies are becoming increasingly services-based and their share of world services trade has grown by over 10 percentage points since 2005. However, services trade is concentrated in five developing economies — China; Hong-Kong China; India; the Republic of Korea and Singapore — accounting for over 50 per cent of developing economies’ services trade in 2017.The report says that services trade may help women and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a more active role in world trade, particularly in developing economies, helping to reduce economic inequality. When MSMEs in developing countries start exporting services, they are on average two years younger than manufacturing firms. However, they export less than 5 per cent of total sales. Services are the main source of employment for women. However, the service sectors that account for most women employment have been so far among the least traded.Despite their decline by 9 per cent between 2000 and 2017, barriers to trade in services remain much higher than in goods trade. This is largely due to the limited possibilities to supply certain services across the border and the regulatory intensity of many service sectors.Technologies are key drivers of services trade, enabling cross-border trade of services that have traditionally needed face-to-face interaction. Digital technologies are also reducing the cost of trading services. The report finds that if developing countries are able to adopt digital technologies, their share in world services trade could increase by about 15 per cent by 2040.The report notes that policy barriers to services trade — mainly regulatory measures — are much more complex than in goods trade. The authors of the report note that for services trade to be a powerful engine of economic growth, development and poverty reduction international cooperation will need to be intensified and new pathways will need to be found to advance global trade cooperation and make services a central element of trade policy.Source: World Trade organization
Representatives from cotton producing economies, donor governments and international development partners met at WTO headquarters in Geneva on 7 October to review the support programmes and initiatives in place, and being planned, to aid cotton producers in Africa and least developed countries (LDCs). The Partners Conference on Support for Cotton and Cotton By-Products Development was organized as part of the inaugural “World Cotton Day” hosted by the WTO.In opening the conference, WTO Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff told the attendees that the conference represented a unique high-level platform for development cooperation partners to discuss their prospective engagement for the sustainable development of the cotton sector, particularly in Africa and in LDCs.“This conference and your presence today highlight that cotton development assistance is a non-contentious area of WTO work, characterized by a widespread pragmatic and cooperative spirit,” DDG Wolff noted.Senior officials from the “Cotton 4” (C4) — Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali — as well as ambassadors and officials from Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Togo and Malawi spoke first at the conference, followed by ambassadors and officials from Brazil, China, the European Union and India, as well as the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Also in attendance were representatives from the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).“The challenge we face here today relates to how to calibrate development assistance projects in a way that concretely and effectively helps farmers to take advantage of the various untapped potentials linked to their cotton production,” DDG Wolff highlighted.Cotton production in Africa provides income to over 3.5 million farmers and their families, of which 17 per cent are led by women-farmers, DDG Wolff noted. However, in spite of the importance of the sector, one of the key issues in Africa remains local processing and value addition. Of the 1,272 million metric tonnes of lint produced in French-speaking Africa in 2018, only 19,000 tonnes, or 1.5 per cent, was processed locally.“This clearly reveals the existence of under-exploited potentials,” DDG Wolff said.DDG Wolff said a good example is provided by cotton by-products, where, according to estimates from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Africa produces about 2.5 million tonnes of cottonseed, or 5.8 per cent of global production. Only 75 per cent of the seed is crushed for oil and seed-meal, meaning that 25 per cent of cottonseed produced in Africa goes unused. The estimated value of that unused seed is about US$ 237 million, he added.Speaking on behalf of the C4, Shadiya Alimatou Assounan, Benin's Minister of Industry and Trade, said cotton was a principle export for Benin and other LDC producers. For Benin, where cotton accounts for 12% of the country's GDP and more than half of its exports, the sector plays an important social and economic role in generating employment and fighting poverty.She urged donors to provide support for the “Route du Cotton” project outlined by the C4 last year and to the new initiative on cotton by-products, promoted by the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC, to improve the productivity and resilience of the cotton, textile and clothing sectors sector in the C4 and help diversify their markets both nationally and regionally.India's WTO Ambassador Deepak Jagdish Saksena announced at the conference that India will launch a second phase of the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme based on the success of the first phase. In the second phase, the programme will be scaled up to cover five additional African countries over a five-year period and will focus on increasing cotton production and improving the post-harvest and plant by-products industry in the participating countries, as well as building the capacity of the cotton-based textile sector, the Indian ambassador added.Gong Xifeng, counsellor with China's mission to the WTO, said the assistance provided to African cotton producers by China over the past two years has achieved substantial results, referring to the launch of the China Africa Modernization Plan.“If we look to the future there is great potential for cotton cooperation and initiatives,” Mr Gong said, adding that China remains ready to support the cotton by-products and other initiatives with African partners.Demétrio Carvalho, Vice-President of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), said that Brazil has dedicated $80 million to strengthening cooperation with cotton producers in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. A specific example of such assistance was training on cotton production and the use of a specific Brazilian strain of cotton which, in the case of Benin, has helped it become the leading cotton producer in Africa.Mr Carvalho stressed the importance of open markets to bolster the support initiatives. “They are only relevant if the cotton produced can enter world markets,” he said. He also underlined that Brazil stands ready to support the new project on cotton by-products development in African LDCs.Leonard Mizzi of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development said what conference participants clearly heard was a “show of force” for helping cotton producers in Africa and LDCs and a need to look closely at the development of value chains. While assistance should focus on all aspects of the production chain, efforts should be concentrated on tracking how our progress is impacting the weakest link, which is the small farm holders.Mr Mizzi argued that assistance needs to be structured in line with a more holistic strategy, with the objective of decent job creation at its core. He said the EU would continue to push for improved labour conditions and better conditions for women as well as focusing on climate adaptation and mitigation efforts as part of its assistance strategy. He noted the strong demand for assistance in developing parallel value chains from cotton by-products, and said that the EU stands ready to follow up on these calls.Representatives from UNCTAD and the ITC informed the conference about activities they are proposing to support African farmers' efforts towards exploiting the full potential of cotton by-products.Yanchun Zhang, Chief of the Commodities Branch at UNCTAD’s Division on International Trade and Commodities, said UNCTAD and ITC are ready to implement the next phase of a project financed by the Enhanced Integrated Framework on developing cotton by-products in eight African LDCs. During the conference, Togo and Malawi formulated formal requests to join this project, bringing the total number of beneficiary countries to ten.This next phase will focus in particular on improving the capacity of stakeholders to develop commercialization plans for selected investments in value-added cotton by-products, improving the capacity of cotton farmers, including women farmers, to form strong cooperatives, help edible oil producers to invest in modern production techniques and improve the capacity of policymakers to formulate policies to support commercial investments in value-added processing of cotton by-products, Ms Zhang said.Christian Fusillier, head of Agriculture, Rural Development and Biodiversity at AFD, said his agency had provided around €1 billion in support to cotton producers in West and Central Africa over the past 50 years through loans and subsidies that have helped modernize production and provide advice and support to farmers. Current projects focus on capacity building for farmers and increasing resilience to climate change by adopting environmentally friendly practices.Mr Fusillier announced that AFD has allocated €18.5 million through the PHASE II project for helping transition production systems and improving the incomes of cotton producers in southern Mali.Simon Hess of the EIF secretariat highlighted the engagement of the EIF in supporting project development and feasibility assessments on cotton by-products in requesting LDCs, and noted the importance of leveraging further resources in support of the implementation phase.Riccardo Savigliano, Chief of the Agro-Industries Technology Division at the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said that future initiatives include the development of sustainable cotton production in Burkina Faso, and support for a sustainable and transparent Egyptian “white gold” cotton.The inaugural “World Cotton Day” was launched by the WTO Secretariat at the initiative of the Cotton-4 and in collaboration with the Secretariats of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNCTAD, the ITC and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).The event stems from the Cotton-4's official application for the recognition of 7 October as World Cotton Day by the United Nations General Assembly, reflecting the importance of cotton as a global commodity.Source: World Trade organization
Rwandan President Paul Kagame Monday officiated the launch of Mara Phones manufacturing plant, which will make smartphones in the country.The first 'made in Rwanda' phones rolled off the assembly line last week, the presidency said, through a partnership with Mara Group."The Mara Phone joins a growing list of high-quality products that are made in our country... It is another milestone on our journey to high-tech, 'made-in-Rwanda' industry," President Kagame said.In a series of tweets from the presidency, Kagame was quoted saying: "The introduction of Mara Phones will put smartphone ownership within reach of more Rwandans."
Source: Allafricanews.com
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