The Minister for Trade, Industry and employment, Hon. Yusupha Kah has said that the Gambia's total trade with the United States amounted to D785.4 million in 2008 acocu8nting for 10.5% of the Gambia's total trade.

Mr. Yusupha Kah said this while opening a two day forum on trade organised by the U.S embassy on Tuesday 17 November at the Coconut Residence in Kerr Serigne.

Mr. Kah added that the Gambia's total trade with U.S from January to June 2009 amounts D96.4 million representing 2.0%. He noted that the main exports to the U.S are crude groundnut oil, fish to the U.S and fishery products and worn clothing. Mr. Kah disclosed that the U.S government in 2000 promulgated the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to encourage more substantive trade with the sub-Saharan Africa and the Gambia became an AGOA eligible country in 2003 and qualified fort he textile visa in 2008. He said that it is very important to provide training to operators in the textile sector on how to meet specific requirements for the U.S market and the U.S Embassy could be of great assistance in this area.

He added that Gambian private sector operators need to be assured of readily available buyers in the U.S for their products and it important to develop a network of buyers in the U.S and those selling from the Gambia. He further said that quality assurance issues, standards requirement for food and non-food exports in developed markets including the U.S has generated a lot of fear and apprehension among potential Gambian exporters.

Mr. Kah noted that through support from other development partners his ministry continues to look at ways of addressing these quality requirement issues and the latest intervention was under the West Africa Quality Programme funded by the EU.